Learning To Breathe
by SherrBERT
Summary: After disobeying his father, Draco is in need of some help. Three certain teenagers might be the help he's been searching for, even if he doesn't know it. HD slashh. And HBP, it never happened.
1. A Truce of Sorts

**Disclaimer:** Hello. ::Wave:: Please don't sue me. I don't own any of them. They all belong to the brilliant muse of Ms. JK Rowling. ::Bows down to her:: This is going to end up being slash. If you don't like it, the back button is that way I am not implying that any of the characters created by JK Rowling are gay. KthnxBii.

Oh, yes._ Italics_ are flashbacks. In case some of you are a little slow on the uptake. Har-har!

**Chapter One: A Truce of Sorts**

_An angelic figure was curled up on a cold, wet floor. The only source of light came from a small torch on the wall. To Draco Malfoy, that light was a symbol of hope. Every hour, the flame shrank, leaving him to fear the darkness that was inevitably approaching. He shivered. The dungeons were meant for torture, but not usually for a person living in the very same house. It was usually reserved for unwanted visitors. Draco was just special, he reasoned sarcastically. He knew what fate waited for anyone who was carelessly thrown into these small cells. He shook his head vigorously, trying not to think about it. He tried not to imagine what sort of pain he was going to have to endure. He didn't want to imagine the cold, clammy hands running up and down his flesh, or the violation that he would have to withstand. Draco Malfoy was at his breaking point after years of pretending to be made of the very same stone that this awful place was built from._

_A cold hand collided with his face with a tremendous amount of force. The child kept an icy, unemotional expression upon his bruising features. Tears threatened to fall, but he knew what the consequences of that would be._

_"How dare you disobey me? What about the Dark Lord? It is impossible that I raised such an awful excuse for a son." The boy responded with an eerie sort of silence. "You're a coward, Draco. Do you know what they do with cowards? Do you know what happens to people who betray their master?" Stone colored eyes battled each other in a staring contest in the dim light. "You, my dear son, are PATHETIC, and I will make sure that you get what you've had coming to you for all of these years that you have dishonored me." Another blow was cast upon the teenager's porcelain skin. His smirk didn't falter._

_"At least I'm brave enough to think for myself." He knew that would be a mistake, as his father raised his wand angrily. His punishment would have to wait. Lucius smirked as the sound of footsteps approached this touching father/son moment._

He boarded the Hogwarts Express on his own. Alone was the boy's middle name. Everything he did, he did it solo.

That wasn't entirely true. In fact, his best friend had been there through most of his more significant moments in his life. Today, however, Blaise Zabini was nowhere in sight. In fact, he hadn't been there for the whole summer. He had no idea what was going on in Draco's tortured life, and that worried the blonde boy. It scared him, even if his eyes shielded his true emotions about the matter. He needed someone. He needed to talk to somebody about what had happened.

Draco sighed when he came to the 5th compartment in a row to find it occupied with some snotty little first years. He thought back to the way he had been when he had been their age. He shook his head in shame. He had been the splitting image of Lucius, inside and out. He no longer had the ability to call that man his father. It was far too painful to think about, let alone to hear himself say it out loud. No, to him, that man would always be Lucius Malfoy. And Draco? Well, he preferred just "Draco". Last names were overrated, anyway, right?

He furrowed his brow in thought as he continued along the corridor. Number 9 had been full as well. What great luck he had. How many first years could there be, anyway? Had there been a baby boom that he had been unaware of? Through all his concentration on his somewhat scatterbrained thoughts, he neglected to see three people whom he had not prepared himself for. Not yet, anyway. He had been looking at the floor in front of him, with thoughts running wild through his mind when it happened.

"Oi! Watch it, ferret boy!" Ron snarled sarcastically. Draco felt the overwhelming urge to retaliate. He may have changed his ways, but Ronald Weasley is Ronald Weasley. He just needs to be set straight every once in a while, the stupid git.

Draco held his tongue. He bent down to scoop up the papers that had been in Hermione's hands when the collision took place. Harry knelt down to help as well, but Hermione just stood there with her mouth gaping open like some sort of ape. Draco dusted himself off and held out the papers to the girl.

"T-thanks, Malfoy," she said cautiously. Draco visibly shivered as his last name was announced. Hermione cocked her head to the side slightly and narrowed her eyes. After all, she did have a tendency to know just about everything.

By now, Harry was perplexed by the Slytherin Prince's actions as well. Draco had simply nodded at the trio and snaked his way past, obviously continuing his task of finding an empty compartment. Harry silently looked to Hermione. They nodded knowingly at each other simultaneously. Ron simply looked confused and scanned both faces for some sort of inlet to what exactly it was that they were thinking. Ron was always left out. Harry and Hermione spun on their heels and headed in the direction of Malfoy, with an alarmed Ron Weasley following on their heels.

Draco made his way to the back of the train. One would think that with it being a train created by wizards, there would never be the problem of finding a compartment. To his relief, the very last compartment shined invitingly at him. With a sigh, the tired boy sat down. Finally, he had peace and quiet for the first time in many months.

It had been nice for the 2.4 minutes that it had lasted. The door slid open quickly, and in stepped Granger. She was not someone that he had been planning on having a little visit from. Being alone when a Slytherin came to teach him a lesson would be one thing, but to be stormed in on while having a little chat with Hermione Granger and her little friends would make excruciating pain a done deal for Draco. When did his life take a turn for the worst?

Ah, yes. That's right. His first day at Hogwarts was when it all began. No, no that can't have been it. His torture had started way before he had known any of these three. Hogwarts had just intensified the situation, he supposed. He sighed dramatically and looked out the window, trying to forget about the 6 eyes that were currently eating through him. Finally, he turned.

"Yes?" Simple enough, he supposed. Not friendly, but not his old malicious self. Perfect, Draco. Good job.

Hermione gave Harry and Ron glares as if to say, "Go away. You're not sensitive enough for this." Ron rolled his eyes and Harry looked hurt. Slowly, they rose and made their way out of the apartment. For some reason, Draco had to fight extremely hard to hold back tears. He turned back towards the window.

"Draco." He rolled his eyes. Good start, Granger. It will only take twenty years to understand what you want at this rate.

"Yes?" He said again, staring unblinking into her eyes. What was it that he saw? Sadness? Worry? No. That couldn't have been it. Nobody cared for Draco. Nobody except for Blaise, Pansy and Severus, actually.

"Are you- are you alright?" she asked, tentatively. Draco nodded. "Are you sure?" Another nod. "You seem rather- distant." He shrugged. By now Hermione was losing hope of opening him up. "If you want to talk about anything, anything at all, I'll be around. It's just, Draco, you seem so upset. It's not like you. Is it possible that you've changed?" Another nod. Hermione smiled. Now they were getting somewhere.

Draco and Hermione didn't say much after their initial conversation on the train. That is, if you could even really call it a conversation. Most would say it was one-sided. For the rest of the ride, the two teens, who were soon joined by Ron and Harry, rode in a comfortable silence. Astoundingly, no surprise visits awaited Draco by his fellow housemates.

Draco found the silence comfortable, at least. Harry, on the other hand, was battling with his own mind. He had always had a fixation of sorts with the devilish boy. Initially, he believed that it was simply a matter of jealousy. The boy was rich, had a father who loved him and gave him anything and everything that he had ever dreamed of, he was a great student, and his housemates basically bowed down to him. Over time, however, Harry realized that Draco's life could not have been all that it seemed. Every once in a while, the raven haired boy would see Draco's smirk falter, or the light leave his eyes for a split second. It was almost too quick to notice, but Harry knew there was something behind the mask that Draco Malfoy wore.

Yet, even when this realization occurred to Harry, his fascination with Draco continued. This time, he figured it was because the boy was so mysterious. He simply wanted to get inside his head. Then he rationalized it with the fact that Draco was certainly going to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Death Eater, as well as Voldemort's right-hand man, or as Harry saw it, his personal slave. Now, though, Harry even began to question that excuse. So here he was, staring at Draco Malfoy, without a peep of protest from the Ice Prince. Deep down, Harry knew his reason for staring so contently at the boy. Draco was flawless. Even a straight man would admit that readily. Harry snapped out of his daze when Hermione squealed with delight.

"Oh, isn't this exciting? Sixth year! And it's all about to begin!" To illustrate her point, the pointed out the window excitedly at the mammoth castle in the distance. To anyone who did not understand the history of Hogwarts, it would be unfeasible to think that muggles could not see it.

The train came to a stop and the three of them jumped up readily. Hermione calmed down immediately when she saw that Draco was not nearly as excited as the other three. In fact, he was still slouched in his seat with his head resting on his hand and he was staring intently out the window. Hermione held out her hand. After a moment's hesitation, Draco nodded and took it, allowing the girl to help him to his feet. After a small smile was exchanged between the two, the walked out of the compartment, side by side behind Harry and Ron. They understood their truce, even if the other two hadn't.

Actually, Harry had understood the budding friendship between the two. At least, he thought he had. It was clear to him that Hermione had the same feelings that he had for Draco. Jealousy was unavoidable in this situation. He shook his head sadly and continued on with a still-confused Ron by his side. 'That's one good thing about having a clueless friend,' he thought. 'You never have to worry about him breaking your heart in one way or another.'

**Reviews would be wonderful.**


	2. Familiar Faces

**Chapter 2: Familiar Faces**

_"CRUCIO!" The dark voice rang out through the corridors. His chest felt as if it were splitting open down the center. His breathing came in short gasps, but he did not cry out._

_"Cry, you pathetic little rodent." Lucius snarled at his son, kicking him for effect as his master continued the curse. A smirk developed on his face as the boy's unemotional face began to falter into an expression of discomfort. Draco Malfoy still refused to cry. He would not give these two men that satisfaction._

_After coming to the conclusion that the boy would be dead before he made a sound, the Dark Lord lowered his wand. Draco continued to twitch on the floor, with the pain continuing to course through his veins like a spreading wildfire. The pain subsided, but he knew that something far worse was waiting for him. He had been told that he had been the object of his father's Lord's fancies for quite some time._

Draco shivered in the cold while waiting for the carriages to fill. It had been a surprisingly mild night, so Harry did not understand the sudden movement from Draco's direction as they stepped into one of the awaiting carriages. This time, Harry had the opportunity to sit next to Draco, while Hermione and Ron took the opposite seats. The three made the move to look out the window in silence again, but Harry refused to let them do that. He blindly groped for a way to spark up a conversation.

"So, Draco," he started, but paused to clear his throat as his three companions turned to face him. "Uh, how was your summer?" Harry felt like an idiot. 'The kid's depressed, you stupid git,' he thought to himself. 'Obviously it had something to do with an occurrence over the summer.' He mentally slapped himself repeatedly.

Draco simply stared at him for a moment, and the boys' eyes locked momentarily. Harry could read into those eyes very clearly, much to his surprise. Draco was not one who could be read easily unless he willingly let his guard down. This look he gave, it was a look of "Help me, Harry. I've been broken and I need you to fix me."

"It was fine." He said with a nod and a small smile as the carriage came to a halt and he hopped out, to be simultaneously tackled to the ground by two Slytherins. The golden trio each whipped out their wands to help their new friend, (Ron retrieved his slightly slower than the other two, for it took him a few moments to realize what was going on.) but a sigh of relief escaped each of them as they realized who these attackers were. Harry saw Draco smile genuinely for the first time as he greeted his two best friends, Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini. Harry couldn't help but feel a weight lifted off of his shoulders. Maybe Draco would be okay.

Together, the two newcomers turned to face Hermione, Ron and Harry. "You rode the train with Potty, Weasel, and the Mudbl-" Pansy began, but was cut off by an icy glare from Draco. "Sorry. Are they… your_ friends_?" Pansy asked in surprise. Draco simply nodded. "Oh, boy, sweetie. You must have really missed us!" and with that, she threw herself at the blonde boy, and they laughed together.

Hermione snarled at the three that stood before her. "So I guess it's clear that you in fact have _not_ changed. Once a ferret, always a ferret, you selfish, slimy little cockroach." Draco was taken aback by this sudden outburst from his new friend. He broke away from his older friend's grasp and was able to catch Hermione's shoulder as she tried to spin on her heel and storm away.

"What are you on about?" he asked, looking hurt.

"You know very well what I am on about!" she shouted. "I guess you just felt the need to have little fill-in friends on the train, no matter who they were, so you gave us this little charade that you're this poor, broken little boy who lost everything! That is the last time that you fool me, Malfoy." By now, her finger was inches from his nose.

"That was not my intention at all, Hermione." He began. "Pansy was just joking. You'll get used to it with time. It's just her sense of humor."

"I will never get used to it. I will never take the time to get used to it. Because as far as I'm concerned, we're still enemies, and we always will be." And with that, she stalked away, leaving even a confused Harry in her wake. Draco's shoulders slouched.

"I never considered her an enemy. I never considered any of you enemies." He said with a sigh and stared at the ground sadly. Harry couldn't help but want to hold the poor boy.

"She'll get over it. Listen. We never really considered you an enemy either. We saw you as more of a rival." Harry said with a reassuring smirk. Ron looked at him like he belonged in St. Mungo's. Draco smiled at him and Harry could practically feel his heart melt.

"Thanks, Harry… for everything that you did today. Thank Hermione for me too?" Harry nodded and led Ron into the castle, leaving Pansy and Blaise very confused.

"So what is all of this about you pretending to be so hurt?" Blaise asked bluntly, earning a hard stare from Pansy in disapproval.

"I think you should answer my questions first. Where were you two all summer?"

"I was in America with my family. They have a great summer program there for-" Pansy began, but was interrupted by a very apologetic Blaise.

"Draco, I wanted to come see you so badly. Believe me, I did. My father simply would not have it. All of a sudden he was opposed to me having any sort of contact with you. I've been really worried. I thought something had happened to you and he was trying to hide it from me, but now that I see that you're ok, I guess I was overreacting." He paused and looked into his best friend's eyes. "You _are_ alright, aren't you?" Draco simply stared ahead and said nothing.

"Oh, Merlin," Pansy began. "What happened?"

Draco wasn't entirely sure if he should disclose what had happened to him just yet. After all, they three of them had just taken their seats in the Great Hall. Draco did not need to protest, however, because Dumbledore rose and greeted the students. 'Saved by the old geezer' he thought. Pansy still looked quite concerned.

Dumbledore's speech seemed to drag on for years for Pansy and Blaise, but to Draco, the longer it lasted, the longer he could wait to tell his friends about his… unfortunate summer. He went over how to tell his best friends in his mind, mentally crossing out the ways that he knew would never work. 'Guys, I was abused…' That wasn't right. 'Something happened to me, but don't worry, I'm fine…' No, that wasn't right either. He wasn't okay, and his friends could see right through him. They were the only two people who knew when he was lying.

His attempts at productive thinking were interrupted by a hard poke in his side. He looked up to find Pansy glaring at some Slytherins a few seats over. "Why are they glaring at you, Draco?" she whispered, while Blaise made what he thought were intimidating facial expressions at the group. Draco just shrugged. He knew that that was not a good enough response and further questions would be asked.


	3. The Attack

**Chapter 3: An Attack**

_"Leave." With the command from his master, Lucius glided out of the room with his robes flowing out behind him. Draco shut his eyes, fearing the worst._

_"Why did you disobey me, little Dragon?" Voldemort asked in mock sadness. Draco felt ten boney fingers cup his cheek. He refused to open his eyes. "Open your eyes, Draco. I've always loved your silver eyes." Draco's eyes didn't open. "I said, open your eyes." Voldemort said threateningly. Draco slowly opened his eyes, trying to hold back tears._

"_You know that I love you, Dragon." He said, inching closer to Draco's face. Draco could feel the older man's breath upon his cheeks. "Sometimes, my dear, love hurts." With that, Draco found his lips caught in a one-sided kiss with the man he despised. The Dark Lord pulled back abruptly._

_"When I show you affection, my Dragon," he began, "you must show me some in return. Do I make myself clear?" Draco felt the bile rise in his throat as his lips were captured again, trying his best to kiss the snake-like man back. Draco was a good actor. His nausea became almost unbearable as he felt the buttons of his shirt being undone by those dirty fingers._

Draco excused himself from the feast shortly after Dumbledore's speech. He had become overwhelmed by the threatening faces coming from the other students and decided that it would be best if he were to be alone for a little while. Blaise and Pansy had offered to go with him, but he turned that offer down.

Harry on the other hand, decided to follow him whether he wanted him to or not. As Pansy and Blaise turned back to their meal, Draco exited the Great Hall. 'They're blind,' Harry thought as he excused himself from his table. 'He's hurt and he needs someone.' And with that, he sped up in search for Draco.

Draco rounded a corner to collide with two rather tall boys. He apologized abruptly without looking up and made to continue on his way, but he was pulled back harshly by the back of his robes. His heart began to race as he looked up at their faces.

Draco Malfoy was face-to-face with Marcus Flint and Theodore Nott. Something told him he would not come out of this confrontation without some sort of battle. One in which he was sure he'd lose.

"Well, well, well," Nott growled as he advanced on the much smaller boy. "If it isn't the man of the hour. We were just talking about you, Malfoy."

"Don't do something you'll regret, Nott." Flint hissed. "We don't want to permanently _damage_ our future Lord's_ favorite toy._ Who knows what he'd do to us?" Nott nodded in agreement.

"We'll just… teach him some manners that are necessary when he's around good ol' Voldy." Nott added. Flint grabbed Draco forcefully and slammed him against the wall. Draco showed no sign of pain. After all, being emotionless was his trademark.

"So why'd you do it, traitor?" Flint whispered into his ear. "Why'd you deny the dark mark? Don't you know that it's an HONOR?" and with that last word, Draco was slammed into the wall again. "To be offered such a great privilege at such a young age is something that one should _never_ pass up."

"And to think," Nott interrupted. "We thought you were the smartest of us all." Draco had no time to retaliate, as two fists met his face with great force. He could feel his lip split open and the sound of his nose snapping echoed throughout the corridor. The two boys smirked as they pushed Draco to the ground and kicked him in the stomach, counting kicks simultaneously to give him twice the amount of pain that either could have delivered alone.

Harry had lost sight of Draco. He was about to give up when hushed voices could be heard around a corner. He stopped and tried to hear what was being said.

"You – knew – you – had – this – coming – Draco," a deep voice said in between what sounded like blows. Harry froze. Someone was hurting Draco.

"Alright, this is getting boring," another voice chimed in. "What do you say we make it more interesting? Take out your wand, Marcus." Harry snapped out of his statue-like state and turned the corner with more speed and courage than he had ever imagined himself to possess.

A split second later, Harry had his wand drawn, practically poking Nott's nose with it. He couldn't help but gasp slightly at the sight of Draco on the ground. He couldn't even tell it was him, with all of the blood and the forming bruises.

"Get away from him." Harry warned. The boys smirked.

"Or what, Potter?" they asked together, almost eerily.

"Or I'll hex you. That's what. I've taken on your beloved Lord more times than you've laid eyes on him. I think I can take you, too." The boys laughed, but slowly turned and walked the other way, obviously frightened of Harry's power.

"This ain't over, Malfoy," Nott snarled as they turned the corner. Harry watched them until they were out of sight, then immediately flung himself at Draco's side.

"Draco. Draco, please wake up. Wake _up_." But his efforts didn't seem to work as he lightly hit Draco's cheeks, hoping to get some sort of response. Harry rose to go find help when he heard a groan. "Draco!" he exclaimed and immediately found himself hovering over Draco's face again.

"I'm going to get you some help, alright? Just stay here." But Draco weakly reached up and grabbed his wrist as he moved to get up.

"What if they come back?" he asked with tears in his eyes. Harry noticed that his breaths were shallow. He wasn't going to last very long without help. Draco shivered. Harry took off his cloak and placed it over the weaker boy, and hugged him tight to his chest.

"You're going to be alright, Draco. You have to be." And with that, Screams of "Help!" could be heard throughout the school as Harry wiped the blood from Draco's face.

Harry had only been screaming for less than a minute when Ron's voice could be heard in the distance. "Harry! Harry, is that you? Are you okay? Where are you?"

"Ron! I'm over here! Follow my voice!" and within another ten seconds Ron came running. He stopped suddenly and looked at the two bloody boys on the floor.

"Oh, Harry. What happened to you two?" Harry looked down. He was covered in Draco's blood.

"I'm fine. It's Draco. Ron, run and get someone… any teacher you can find. Please, hurry." Ron nodded and sped away, to return quickly with Snape at his heels.

"Get away, Potter." Snape quickly said and fell to his knees by Draco. Harry didn't move from the boy's unmoving body. "I said GET AWAY!" Harry's eyes filled with tears as he watched Snape give Draco three potions and wave his wand. Harry observed his Potions professor. The man was clearly fighting back his emotions, and his hands were shaking almost violently as he force-fed the vials to his godson. Suddenly, the bloody mess resembled Draco again. His nose was fixed and his face was free of blood.

"Is he alright, Professor?" Ron asked, looking a little scared.

"I don't know." Was all he said as he silently levitated Draco and began walking away.

"Where are you taking him?" Harry asked, his voice cracking.

"The Infirmary, of course." Snape snapped as he continued to walk away.

Harry sighed and sat himself back on the floor, with his head in his hands. He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder gently. He looked up at Ron's face. The other boy was clearly not as distraught as Harry, but he was pretty shaken up.

"Harry, what happened?" Harry could feel tears well in his eyes as he tried to answer his friend's question.

"I don't know, Ron. Nott and Flint… they… they just… attacked him. Ron, I don't understand. Why would they do that to him? Weren't they his friends?" Ron nodded sadly. "Draco did something over the summer." Ron nodded again. "What did he do to make them hate him so much?" Ron sighed.

"I think that's something that you will eventually have to get out of Draco yourself."

"What makes you think that he'll tell me?"

"Well, you cared enough about him to run after him and defend him, then hold him and scream for help. He owes you an explanation at the very least."

"Maybe I don't want to know."

"Sure you do."

"What?" Harry asked, confused.

"You love him."

Harry simply stared at Ron after that last remark. Ron smirked.

"Come on, Harry. It's pretty obvious. You're so upset over this whole thing, and even being nice to him on the train gave me a clue. At first I simply thought you had gone mental along with Mione, but then it all clicked when I saw that jealous glare you gave her." Harry blushed and Ron laughed. "Hey, it's alright, mate." He said, slapping Harry on the back. "We all have a right to love who we want to. Now come on, let's get you cleaned up." Harry looked down at his blood stained shirt and nodded in agreement, feeling a little better.

Until he could talk to Draco, he knew he would have to endure the endless string of questions from his housemates, especially from Hermione. She and Draco had indeed ended on bad terms last time they spoke, but the girl obviously cared about Draco enough to be worried.

Luckily, when the duo entered Gryffindor tower, nobody was in the common room. They retreated to bed, and Harry sat awake for most of the night, wondering what to say to Draco the next day. The bottom line was that Draco needed someone to protect him, and Harry Potter was determined to be the one at his side.


	4. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Ok, so this chapter took me longer to get up than the first three. I would just like to say that reviews like "Why didn't they..." have always made me laugh quite a bit. I'll answer the questions that are probably to come and the couple that have already been asked right now:** Because I wanted it this way.**

Happy reading!**  
**

**Chapter 4: One Step Closer, Two Steps Back**

_ A day had passed since the boy's... unfortunate encounter with the Dark Lord. Now, Draco simply sat in his bathtub. He had been lying there since approximately four hours ago._

_No matter what he did, no matter how hard he scrubbed his now raw skin, he couldn't get the filthy feeling to go away._

_Draco Malfoy hated himself. He hated his own weakness._

He moved swiftly down the hall, ignoring the stares and whispers. He knew he didn't look as he should. He was aware of the gashes along his cheek that simply did not want to go away, no matter how many times he tried to conceal them with countless charms. Draco also knew that word had gotten around. He was probably the new joke of the school.

"Draco Malfoy, Prince of Slytherin was a wimp and had been disowned by his own friends." What a charming conversation starter that was.

He had been in the infirmary for about two days. He had had no visitors. He just knew Blaise and Pansy had tried to come, but Pomfrey turned them away. He could picture her high-pitched voice. "No visitors. The poor boy needs his rest!"

Draco's main concern was Harry. Did Potter try to visit him too? Did Harry think that he was as pathetic as Draco thought himself to be? An overwhelming feeling of self-hatred flooded the blonde. He was so very weak.

His thoughts were interrupted by an attack from his left. Draco stumbled sideways but caught the unidentified object in his arms. He was shocked to see that Hermione had latched herself onto him.

"Oh, Draco. I'm so sorry about what I said. I really didn't mean it! I was just so angry at what they were saying. Draco, I'm so very sorry. Please forgive me!" she took a breath and pulled away to stare up at his face. "How are you feeling?"

Draco rubbed his side unconsciously. He had broken 4 ribs and punctured a lung. He wasn't even sure what else had gone wrong. All he knew was that he was sore. "I'm alright," was all that he could manage to say to the girl as his eyes scanned the distance for the person who saved his life.

"Harry went up to the infirmary." Hermione stated, almost as if she had been reading his mind. "He was actually making another attempt to come visit you. This must be his twentieth time. Madame Pomfrey keeps sending him away. He's been worried sick. No one has heard anything about your condition. Some of us thought you would be in there for weeks. That's mostly Ronald's fault, though. He described the scene so dramatically I'm surprised anyone believed him at all. He said your eye was hanging out of it's socket and that blood was flooding the floor around you." Hermione finished with a sigh.

Draco simply nodded, preoccupied with the fact that Harry had come a number of times to see if he was alright. 'Probably because he feels the need to protect the poor little weakling,' he thought. 'Just another duty of Saint Potter.'

Just then, the slapping of shoes against the hard floor could be heard behind Draco. Draco's vision was encroached by somebody's chest as he was enveloped in a bear hug. All he saw was darkness, and he prayed to Merlin that it was who he wished it would be.

Draco looked up, and could feel his heart beat faster as he came face-to-face with a very happy Harry.

"I've been worried sick, Draco." Draco blushed. He didn't want Harry to feel as if he needed protection. He struggled to find words to say as they began to walk, but didn't have to search far, as Harry spoke again.

"When I saw you lying there," he began, "my heart stopped. I thought you were dead. I thought... I thought they had killed you." his voice cracked as he said "killed" and Draco looked over and was surprised to see tears threatening to fall from Harry's eyes. They both stopped walking and faced each other to see that the corridor was suddenly abandoned with the exception of the two boys. Draco was confused.

"I... I didn't really know you cared."

"Draco. Of course I cared. For crying out loud, you were dying!"

"That's not what I meant."

"What did you mean?"

"I didn't know you cared about me."

Now tears were falling down Harry's cheeks. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just... I didn't know. After all that I did to you, why should you care about what happens to me?"

Harry found himself lashing out and pinned the smaller boy against the wall with slightly more force than he had intended to. Without thinking, he captured the blonde's lips with his own. He was pleased when Draco responded. Their tongues collided for what seemed like hours, and Harry found his hand had snaked its way underneat Draco's shirt to explore his chest.. Harry came to realize that Draco had stopped responding. He took his hand away from it's place and pulled away to find Draco shaking with tears in his eyes. Slowly, Draco slid to the floor and placed his head in his hands.

Harry was scared. He had just ruined everything. He had gained Draco's trust and he just blew it with a kiss and curious fingers. He knew that he had ruined their new friendship. He had abandoned Draco's trust. Harry knelt down next to a very upset Draco.

"Draco. I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I don't know why I just did that. I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry." Harry kept muttering apologies as the smaller boy continued to shake almost violently. Harry moved to place a hand on his shoulder and was surprised to find Draco in his arms a moment later, sobbing into his chest. After a minute or two, Draco pulled away and rubbed his eyes after calming down a bit.

"I'ts not your fault, Harry. It was just me being stupid."

"Draco, being startled by a guy whom you are not interested in suddenly kissing you and feeling you up doesn't make you stup-"

"I am interested in you. I'm... very... interested in you, Harry."

Now Harry was even more confused. "Then why did you-?"

"I'm not good with... being close to people lately." Harry advanced on the smaller boy again.

"I can get you back to normal," he said seductively as he made to kiss Draco again. Draco turned his head and looked away.

"I don't think I'll ever be normal."

"I'm not sure that I understand."

"You shouldn't understand. I'm not making any sense."

"Can you explain it to me?"

"I'm not sure that I can, Harry."

"Why not?"

"It hurts me too much." Draco let out a whimper and found himself wrapped in Harry's arms again. He tensed up, but quickly relaxed. 'This is only Harry,' he thought. 'He would never do anything to harm me the way that father and that snake had.'

Harry looked down at the shaken form lying in his arms. He knew that this had something to do with the past summer. He knew that Draco would open up to him in time. Harry just hoped it was something that he could fix with time.


	5. Revealing Too Much

**I am really sorry that this took so long. slaps self **

**Chapter 5: Revealing Too Much**

Pansy and Blaise had been taking turns following close behind Draco ever since he had returned to the Slytherin common room after his encounter with Harry Potter. He loved his best friends dearly, but if he didn't get time to himself, he was going to self destruct.

"You don't look like you slept well last night, Dray. I heard you tossing and turning. Are you feeling alright?" Draco turned slowly to look at Blaise. His stony glare softened immediately as he looked into his friend's worried eyes. Blaise was definitely a great friend.

Without realizing it, Draco turned to a mirror on the wall. He looked dreadful. The cuts on his face had yet to heal, and dark circles surrounded his abnormally dull eyes. He was pale, even by his standards, and that was saying something. He subconsciously tried to flatten his hair as he thought of a suitable response.

"It's the meds that Pomfrey has me on. You know, the pain killing potion for my lung as it finishes healing. She said they would keep me up for a while. Sorry I kept you up," Draco shrugged and continued walking. Naturally, Blaise quickened his pace to catch up to his friend.

"You never told us why," Pansy cut in as she joined the duo.

"because popping a lung hurts, Pans…" Draco began, trying to avoid the conversation that he was inevitably going to have to have with them.

"You know that isn't what I mean," she said with a glare. "Nott and Flint… why did they attack you like that? And you never answered my question from the feast. Why does everyone seem to be angry with you?"

"Ask them."

With this response, both Pansy and Blaise were insulted and outraged. Blaise caught Draco's shoulder and spun him around to face his concerned friends.

"We're not going to get a proper answer from them. Why would we when we can ask the victim himself?" Blaise snarled. Draco was a little bit shaken. He wasn't used to this side of Blaise unless he was bullying a younger student. Draco sighed and sat dejectedly on the couch, waiting for the other two to follow suit. They did, both with curiosity tearing at their features.

"I'm a traitor." Draco simply stated, and looked out the window.

"A traitor to whom?"

"Who do you think?" his voice was steadily rising. Why couldn't his friends understand that this was unbearable to speak of?

"The Dark Lord?" Blaise asked, stupidly.

"No, Blaise, your mother," Draco sneered in response.

"Dray," Pansy cut in. "Please don't snap at us. We're just trying to understand…"

"I DON'T EVEN UNDERSTAND."

Silence followed the blonde's outburst as the trio sat staring at each other uncomfortably.

"So you refused the dark mark?" Pansy gently asked, moving closer to the shaking boy, while Blaise mirrored her actions on the other side. Draco nodded as he closed his eyes in an attempt to shield his tears.

"That's nothing to feel sorry for Draco. You're so brave. You should be proud, sweetie…" Pansy began as she embraced her friend. "I know I'm proud. So that's why they're mad? Was your father devastated?" She placed a kiss on her oldest friend's head as she waited for his response.

"I got what was coming to me."

With that sentence, Blaise's hands unconsciously balled into fists as Pansy's eyes widened.

"You said he stopped hurting you years ago…"

"Well, he had."

"Oh, Dray, what did he do?"

"I… can't. I can't do this. I can't talk about it. I haven't told anyone. Please don't make me say." Blaise's eyes seemed to have caught fire.

"I'll have my father kill him. All I need to do is tell him what your father did and…"

"I'm sure your father knows exactly what happened."

"Why do you say that?"

"Everyone knows."

"Do they?"

"They should. Voldemort flaunted it for weeks." Blaise could feel the bile rise in his throat. He had heard that the Dark Lord had a slight interest in his best friend.

"Your father… Lucius… he… turned you into the Dark Lord?" Draco nodded.

"And Voldemort… he… he didn't… Dray. Tell me he didn't…" Pansy couldn't continue. Her eyes filled quickly with tears and she collapsed into Draco's arms. Draco knew they had both figured it out. Now all they needed was the confirmation. They needed to hear him say the words.

Slowly, his dry mouth let the words escape. "Lord Voldemort raped me."

The words emerged sounding hollow. No emotion could be traced. This scared Draco's friends. Pansy sat up from Draco's embrace and looked at his face, noticing that Blaise was doing the same, and for good reason. Draco's features were scarily stone-like. The emotion that they knew he was feeling was nowhere to be seen. Finally, he closed his eyes, and with a painful sob, all of the emotions exploded.

"I'm his whore."

Blaise moved to reassure his friend, but Draco tore out of the common room before either of the shaken teenagers could do so much as voice their protests.

Draco sprinted down the corridor as fast as he could. He didn't know where he was going; he just felt that if he ran, nobody could hurt him. This belief was proven wrong when he was torn painfully from the hallway into a classroom.

"Sit," his professor and godfather simply stated. Draco obeyed, not out of fear, but out of relief. Severus Snape always knew what to do. Suddenly a wave of apprehension washed over Draco. What if Snape was ashamed of what had happened to him?

Draco could feel the tears prickling his eyes again as his godfather made his way towards him. There was nobody in this world Draco adored more than this man. If he could have chosen his father, Snape would have been his from the very beginning. He was always there when nobody else was. Draco knew that Severus cared. Or at least he had cared up until now. Now Draco wasn't so sure.

His fear was pushed aside as Severus knelt down in front of him and looked into his eyes. A hand came up from his side and Draco flinched, fearing being struck, and Snape was taken by surprise.

"You know I would never hit you, Dragon." Draco flinched again, this time at the name he was being called. Every time he heard that word, he remembered that snake-like mouth forming it. It brought him back to the night that changed his life.

"_You know that I love you, Dragon."_

The hand that Severus had raised came to rest on the cuts along Draco's cheek. This also brought him back to the very same night, when those bony fingers cupped his cheek before capturing his protesting lips. Draco was trembling now.

The older man moved his face closer to Draco's to look closer into his eyes. The boy let out a whimper now, and turned his head away in an attempt to shield his lips from his godfather's in a repeat of history.

Nothing more came. The hand abandoned its place on the boy's cheek and he couldn't feel his godfather's breath on his face anymore. Draco opened his eyes shakily.

"Dragon. What is wrong? Why are you suddenly so afraid of me? You know that I would never lay a hand on you in an attempt to harm you. You know that I love you…"

"_Sometimes, my dear, love hurts."_

"NO!" Draco cried and brought his knees to his chest.

"Draco, please… _Legilimens_"

Severus found himself in a memory that he would have preferred not to be subjected to. His hands balled into fists as he watched Voldemort advance on his own godson. He watched him bring his face inches away from the emotionless boy's, and everything clicked as he said, "You know that I love you, Dragon." This was all he needed to hear, but he couldn't bring himself to end the spell. He had to see for himself what had happened next. "Sometimes, my dear, love hurts." He gagged as the Dark Lord forcefully captured Draco's lips within his own and his hands slid up and down Draco's clothed chest, but not for long as Snape watched Draco's bare chest slowly become visible as The Dark Lord unbuttoned his shirt. He had to end the spell before he saw anything else. He already knew how this had ended.

Suddenly, he was back in the classroom again with his broken godchild. He skillfully caught Draco's shoulders as the boy passed out, and held Draco close to his chest.

"I'm so sorry, my Draco. I'm so sorry that I couldn't protect you."

**Reviews are a writer's fuel to continue. **


	6. Somebody Wants You

Yayyyyy for not waiting so long this time! Thanks for the reviews. You're all too kind.

**Chapter 6: Somebody Wants You**

As Harry took his seat in the Great Hall for dinner that night, his gaze absently scanned the room for something interesting. His wishes were fulfilled when his eyes came to rest on his Potions professor. The man looked fixated on something, and Harry wondered what sparked the look of fear and sadness in his dark eyes. Following Severus Snape's worried gaze, he was directed to Draco Malfoy, sitting at his table with his head in his hands, with Pansy and Blaise on either side of him, casting worried glances at one another every so often.

Harry had come to appreciate Draco's best friends. He was cynical of their loyalty to the blond at first, but as he watched the trio from afar, the two reminded Harry more and more of his own two best friends. He glanced on either side of himself to find Ron digging into the chicken dinner, and Hermione buttering a roll, both stopping when they sensed his eyes on them to give him a warm smile. Harry hoped that he was right about Pansy and Blaise, and that Draco would be protected when Harry couldn't be there.

He once again fixed his eyes on the three Slytherins across the room. This time he watched Pansy whisper something in her friend's ear as he took his face out of his hands. The blond shook his head slowly and sadly. Looking up at Snape, and getting a nod of approval for something, the three friends stood up and made their way through the grand doors of the Great Hall, with sneers from their housemates following closely behind them.

If Harry didn't talk to Draco soon, he was going to explode. It had been days since his slightly disastrous time alone with Draco, and every day since then, the Slytherin's appearance seemed more tired and miserable. He slowly stood up and whispered to his friends, "Don't wait around for me," before practically running to catch up to the others.

As he came out of the Great Hall, he listened for voices to follow. He began to lose hope when all he heard was the faint bustling of students finishing their dinner in the room behind him. Then he heard Blaise's voice.

He rounded a corner to find Draco slouched against a wall, with Blaise and Pansy kneeling by his side. Pansy was rubbing his back reassuringly and whispering things in his ear. Blaise was the one to notice the slightly out-of-place Gryffindor.

"Alright there, Harry?" Blaise asked uncomfortably. Harry realized just then that he hadn't ever really had a conversation with Pansy or Blaise since his new alliance with Draco was formed. Harry nodded.

"I was wondering if I could have a word with Draco… alone." With this proposal Pansy looked quite unsure, but the two looked at Draco for a response. He simply nodded and they stood up slowly.

"We'll be back soon. Don't leave him alone or… well… you know what could happen," Blaise stated with a hint of fear edged in his voice. Harry nodded.

"Of course." With that, they were gone, leaving Harry in the corridor with Draco. The Slytherin didn't seem happy nor sad to see him, so Harry wasn't sure if he should bother. Deciding to stay, Harry took a seat next to the boy who had stolen his heart days before.

"How are things?" Harry started, nervously. A shrug was his only response. He tried again. "Not sleeping well?" Another shrug. Harry considered giving up when Draco's soft voice broke the awkward silence.

"I get nightmares. Don't tell Pansy or Blaise, though." With this statement, Draco's pleading eyes rose to meet Harry's for a moment, and then sank back down to the floor, and Harry felt his own heart sink.

"I get nightmares too. I have for years. I know what you're going through." Draco looked up in surprise.

"Are they memories?" Harry shook his head in response.

"Not necessarily. Sometimes they are, but most of the time they're kind of like premonitions." Draco nodded. "What about yours?"

"They're just memories. Actually, it's one specific memory. I feel like, if I close my eyes, I have to relive it. I can't bear to relive it. So I stay awake. I toss and I turn, and I struggle to fight sleep, but it always comes, and I always wake up in a cold sweat with tears in my eyes. I always wake Blaise, and I have to make up an excuse about potions that Pomfrey gave me. I'm not sure how long I can hide it from him, though. "

"Why don't you ask Snape for dreamless sleep potion?" Draco clearly did not like this idea, as tears came to his silver eyes.

"He won't let me…"

"What? Why?"

"He used to give it to me."

"Didn't it help?"

"It was…_too_ helpful. I began to take it even after I stopped needing it. I kept telling him I was having dreams after they stopped. I was depressed. The potion just made it all go away…"

Harry was stunned. "How long ago was this?"

"About two years ago."

"You've been having dreams for this long?"

"No. Like I said, they stopped for a while… but back then, they were different memories. See… my father… he used to… hit me. One time, he went too far…" Harry had had enough.

"Draco… if he hurt you at all, he _always_ went too far."

"Not necessarily. I deserved it most of the time. One time, I had to be taken to St. Mungo's. He was not pleased. We made up some stupid excuse so he wouldn't get into trouble for it…"

"Nobody deserves that, Draco. Why did the dreams stop?" Harry interrupted, not wanting to hear more of Draco's near-death experience.

Draco shrugged. "He stopped. He started to appreciate me when Voldemort started to show interest in me… making me a Death Eater, I mean." Draco fought to save himself. He knew where this was going. Soon enough, Harry would know.

"Why did the nightmares start again?"

"I was a traitor. I was a traitor to my father, the Death Eaters, and Voldemort himself."

"Just because you refused the dark mark?"

"They had… high hopes for me." Draco hung his head in shame.

Harry's mind was racing to try to keep up with Draco's story. "Okay, so you refused to be Voldemort's… right hand man as we'll call it for now. So were your dreams about you saying no?"

Draco shook his head. "I said my father stopped hurting me when he thought I would become… a Death Eater. When I refused, he started again. Well, kind of."

"Kind of?"

"He had help."

"From who?"

"Voldemort." Harry was practically fighting back tears of sympathy for Draco.

"Did he… perform unforgivables on you?"

"Until my nerve endings died." Harry couldn't bear this.

"It must have been awful." He looked over at the blond to find tears flowing freely now.

"Is that why… you don't like people being close to you?"

Draco shook his head. "No… that's not it." _He's narrowing it down. He's going to know. He's going to think I'm a sick bastard._

"Will you tell me why, then? Maybe I can help." Draco visibly shook. Harry placed an arm over his shoulders and held him close. After tensing for a moment, Draco relaxed into him.

"You shouldn't want me, Harry." Harry was confused by the sudden topic change.

"Why not?" It was all Harry could get out.

"I'm a whore." Harry tensed.

"W-what?"

"I… I was Voldemort's whore. That's how they punished me. That's what my dreams are about. He raped me, and now I'm a dirty, worthless whore-" but he was cut off when Harry's lips slammed into his. Harry was careful where he placed his hands, running his fingers only through Draco's hair and over his face. Tears mixed as they flowed freely now from both boys' eyes. Slowly, Harry pulled away and gazed into Draco's slightly surprised eyes.

"You aren't dirty. You're not a whore. And you are most definitely not worthless, Draco." With that, Draco launched himself at Harry and wrapped his arms around the slightly larger boy's neck and sobbed into his chest.

"Why were you out here in the first place?"

"I received an owl." Harry didn't like where this was going.

"I have to go home this weekend."


	7. Meet Flicky

I AM SO SORRY. It has taken me over a month to post this. I truly am sorry. But JULY 21ST! Who else is as excited as me?? Haha, ok, on we go. Please read and review. It's my fuel.

**Chapter 7: Meet Flicky**

Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to get out of bed that day. He wished he had a time stopper. The more that time passed, the closer Harry came to having to say goodbye to Draco. Harry wasn't going to lie to himself. He had no idea what he could do. He didn't have a clue what he could do to keep Draco out of the hands of his father… and even worse, Voldemort.

Harry heaved a pained sigh and rolled over in bed. He slowly got to his feet and got dressed. Ten minutes later, Harry, Ron and Hermione met up with Blaise and Pansy for the trek to Hogsmeade station.

When the teenagers arrived, Draco was already there with his godfather. He was sitting on his suitcase with his head bowed low. He looked up abruptly when Severus greeted the group. It wasn't until the five kids came closer that they saw the tears threatening to fall from the blonde's eyes. Harry couldn't refrain any longer. He broke into a run until he found himself staring Draco in the eyes. Immediately, Draco found himself in a rib crushing embrace by the Griffindor.

"Come back to me, okay?" Harry whispered in Draco's ear. He knew that Draco had no control over the matter. He had no idea what else to say.

Draco responded with silence. The whistle of the train made the smaller boy shiver in Harry's arms. Harry let him go, feeling that he may never be able to touch him again. He watched with an overwhelming fear inching its way up his throat as he watched Draco hug the others, and finally stopping at Snape.

"You'll be alright. I'll be there to check on you later." Draco simply nodded at this and boarded the train… alone.

The ride seemed shorter than it had ever been before. Before Draco knew it, he saw the sign for platform nine and three quarters, and he could have sworn that it was sneering and taunting him. He felt that way about everything around him.

He was engulfed in dread as he got off the train and met his father. He was greeted with a snarl and a pull on his robes.

"I have a treat for you, boy…"

And with that, a tug behind his navel found him in his own living room.

Harry had never felt this nauseous in his life. The thought of what Draco was being subjected to at this very moment was eating away at his insides. His friends sat in silence. Hermione was shedding silent tears, and Ron had his hands fisted into tight balls. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He slowly turned around to find Snape staring him straight in the eye.

"I'm going to go see how he's making out." His voice cracked with emotion. "I'll let you all know as soon as I get…"

"I'm coming with you." Severus' eyes widened at the boy's outburst.

"You can't, Harry. It's far too dangerous. Who knows who might be there?" Snape turned to Harry's friends for support, but neither offered their services. In fact, they provided just the opposite.

"Sir, I think Harry should come with you. You might need some help if Draco's not well. Plus, Harry cares so much for him. Keeping him here without knowledge looks like it might kill him." Snape growled in response to Hermione's suggestion.

"Fine. Potter, come with me. I don't want to see any attempts at that Gryffindor bravery that we've all come to know and love." He hissed. "I'm not doing this for you," he added coldly. "This is strictly for Draco. Do I make myself clear?" Harry nodded nervously. "Good. Grab your invisibility cloak and come on." Confused as to how Snape knew about the gift from his father, he snatched it up from his bed, gave his friends a flicker of a wave and ran after the speedy potions professor.

They made the hike to Hogsmeade, and Harry felt that same hand on his shoulder again, but this time it was not as gentle. Without warning, he felt the familiar sensation behind his navel and watched the world begin to spin. He was sure that this wouldn't help is nausea. He fell like a sack of galleons to the ground and looked up to find Snape landing gracefully next to him. The potions master couldn't help but snort at the small boy. He was as graceful as a plumber doing ballet.

The manor came into view as Harry turned his head to follow the older man. Leaping up and running to catch up, he noticed that Snape looked very unsettled.

"When we get there, put your cloak on and don't say a word. Do you hear me? Even if Draco's lying in a pool of his own blood shouting your name in a fit of hysterics, you will NOT show yourself." Harry gulped and nodded. He hadn't thought about how he would react in a worst-case scenario. They approached the door and Harry pulled the cloak around himself as Severus knocked loudly on the door.

After a few moments, a shy house elf emerged from behind the door. "Sev! It's so nice to see you! Flicky missed you!" Snape blushed as his legs were enveloped in a death grip of a hug from the creature. Harry struggled not to laugh out loud. "Come in! Come in! Master is down in the dungeons, sir. He will be up soon. He's been down there for hours!"

"What has he been doing, Flicky?" The house elf's happy expression quickly morphed into a frightened one.

"He's – He's down there with Master Draco, sir. And- and Voldemort. They've been down there for so long, sir. Flicky thinks Draco is in trouble. All I hear are Master and Voldemort shouting, and Flicky sees lights flashing! Sometimes the house shakes, sir, but Flicky hasn't heard a peep from Master Draco." Snape nodded, worriedly.

"I would appreciate it if you went about your business here, Flicky. When Lucius comes back upstairs, please do not inform him of my presence." Flicky nodded and scampered off. Harry removed his cloak angrily.

"We have to go down there! Who knows what they're doing to him?" Snape shot him a glare.

"And what do you propose we do once we get down there, Potter? Oh, I know. You go first, confess to Lucius your undying love for his son, ask for his blessing, and sweet the boy off his bruised and battered feet and live happily ever after! Why didn't we think of this before?! No, Potter. We have to wait for them to come upstairs. They will leave Draco down there, and we will sneak down and take care of him. Understood?" Silence was the response. "UNDERSTOOD?" Harry took a step back and nodded. "Good. Now let me in that cloak with you. They're coming.

Review please!


	8. Pain and Misunderstanding

Wooooo new chapter! And quickly too! I'd just like to say, I'm really happy with the way this turned out. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It has a twist that surprised even me! Read on, and please review!

**Chapter 8: Pain and Misunderstanding**

Harry struggled to hold his breath as Lucius turned the corner and walked right towards him. Voldemort was nowhere to be seen, and Draco's father looked nothing short of mortified. Harry was confused and frightened. What if they got downstairs to find that the Dark Lord was not yet finished? Why did Lucius look the way he did? He cast a worried look at his professor, but found a new hope as he saw the determined look in the older man's eyes. He had a plan, and Harry was more than ready to hear it.

Lucius approached the stairs and ascended. They heard his footsteps retreating into a different wing. Snape tugged the cloak off with an air of annoyance.

"Sir, where's Vold-"

"Hell if I know."

"But, Professor… what if the coast isn't clear? I mean, I'd like to finish the slime off more than anyone else, but this seems too dangerous. Even Malfoy looked scared out of his mind-"

"…which is why we are going to exercise extreme caution when we go down there. The cloak will go back on and we will refrain from making the tiniest of sounds. You're doing an adequate job of obeying me. Don't screw this up now, boy. And don't worry about Lucius. He's not the least bit frightened. He would torture his son in front of the entire wizarding world until the boy's last breath if he wouldn't get thrown in Azkaban for it. No, Draco's heart is too pure for that man to do so much as make an effort to love him."

The cloak was repositioned on them, and with a deep breath from both, they submerged themselves into the darkness of the dungeons. Harry's heart was beating so fast, it sounded like one continuous buzz. He feared that if Voldemort remained, the deafening sound of his own heartbeat would give them away.

As they walked along the narrow corridor, silence was all they were greeted with. Cautiously, Severus checked each and every cell. Each one was empty. As more time passed, Harry began to wonder just how large this dungeon was. It seemed to stretch for miles. His thoughts were interrupted by a gasp from his potions master and a sudden cold wind as the man darted from under the cloak and away from his side. Slowly, he turned his gaze to where Snape ran. Nothing could have prepared him for this.

Draco was curled up in a corner. Tears silently escaped from his gray eyes as he shivered, naked and bloody on the cold floor of the cell. He had had his eyes closed, and the touch of his Godfather was enough to send him through the roof with fright.

"Please… please not again. Please…"

Snape took the bloody boy in his arms and rocked him back and forth, whispering soothing words in his ear as he did so. "It's alright, Dragon. It's me. It's Sev. You're alright. I'm here." But Draco seemed to be in a trance of some sort. None of the words seemed to register. It was as if he was caught in a memory of what had just happened to him. Harry couldn't take the pain on the boy's face anymore. He had to give it a try.

Snape slowly disentangled himself from his godson and let Harry take his place. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco, smoothed back his hair and began to whisper just the way that Snape had.

"Dray, please be okay. Please snap out of it. We want to help you. I need you… I… I love you." Draco melted back into the larger boy's frame and the hysterical muttering subsided. Now all that could be heard were the quiet, yet pained sobs from the blond. Suddenly, that wasn't all that could be heard. Footsteps quickly became louder from the distance, and all Harry could do was listen in fright. He closed his eyes as he panicked, hoping to disappear like a chameleon into the stone wall.

"The Golden Boy has come to save my son."

Harry looked up. All of his fear had turned into determination. Draco seemed to want to hide inside of Harry's body. He began to shake as he pressed his back farther into the Gryffindor's chest. Harry rubbed his hands up and down Draco's back. "Shhhh, it's alright…"

But it wasn't alright. Lucius slowly advanced on the pair in the cell, but only after hexing Snape into the cell next door, locking the gate behind him as he landed with a thump.

"Would you like to know what my son is best at, Potter?"

Harry tried to hold back the fear in his voice. "Making people happy."

Lucius laughed. "You could say that. He makes the Dark Lord quite happy, you know. Would you like to take him for a spin? Maybe see what all the hype is about? You know, he raves about how good my son is. I was actually planning on taking him for a test drive right now before I was so _rudely interrupted._ I suppose watching someone else could do the trick though. What do you say?"

Harry couldn't hide his disgust. "Go to hell."

"You'll be coming with me. _Imperio._" Harry was caught off guard by this and couldn't throw it off. He noticed Draco still holding onto him for dear life. He hadn't heard the spell being cast. He had no idea that Harry wasn't in his right state of mind. Harry's mind was racing too much to try to fight what happened next. His pants became tight as he flipped the smaller boy over so that Harry was pressed down on top of him. He propped himself up with one arm as he savagely attacked the boy's lips with his own and unbuttoned his jeans with his other hand. He made his way down to a gash on Draco's collarbone with his lips, his salty kiss making the blond cry out in pain as he lifted the boy's legs. Harry felt as if he was watching what happened next from far away and there was nothing he could do about it.

Two cries echoed throughout the dungeon simultaneously as he plunged himself into Draco. One voice was Draco's, the other from Snape.

"My Dragon, you're so beautiful." He grunted in between thrusts. Draco's eyes widened at the name that he had been called.

After a few short minutes, Harry and Lucius both moaned as Harry finished, falling limp onto the frail boy's body. Harry was tired, and slowly felt the curse being removed. A slow, obnoxious applause came from Malfoy.

"Bravo, Potter. Encore." Harry felt disgusted with both himself and the man that stood above him. Anger took the place of his fatigue as he leapt up to meet Lucius eye to eye. It was then that he realized that his wand wasn't in his jeans anymore. He decided to resort to the only thing he could think of.

He punched Mr. Malfoy with as much force as he could muster.

The older man hit the ground with a thud, and Harry ran over to the cell that held Snape. Slowly, he let him out, but only to be stared down angrily.

"He will never trust you again."

Harry looked over at the broken boy on the floor.

"I couldn't fight it. Oh Gods, Snape… I really didn't think that…"

"That it would turn out like this? Potter! Why do you think I was so afraid to let you come with me tonight? I KNEW that you would find a way to screw this up!" Harry tried to fight the tears as he ran to Draco's side, taking the now passed out boy into his arms and kissing the blond all over his face. He was pulled back by strong arms and the vacant spot next to the unconscious boy was filled by Draco's godfather.

"Draco, please, love. Wake up. Wake up, _please_. I'll keep you safe. Please, Draco, _be alright._" After two minutes passed in silence as the man rocked his godson, he picked Draco up similarly to the way he had at Hogwarts that night, and left Harry behind as he made his way for the stairs.

Harry wiped his fearful tears and made his way to follow his professor.

"Dray, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me… please."

* * *

Days passed and there was no sign of Draco in any of his classes. Harry began to worry about the condition of his lover. Or was it his ex lover? Harry couldn't bear to think of losing Draco. He was determined to make Draco understand. The class was dismissed for lunch and Harry darted out of the room, way before Ron and Hermione had even left their seats. 

Ron and Hermione had heard what happened a few nights ago. They were sympathetic, but Harry had a feeling that they blamed him for what had happened just as much as they blamed Lucius. That thought left Harry unsettled. Maybe they were right. Harry knew he could fight off the Imperio curse. Why couldn't he when it mattered most?

He sped through the halls which were currently empty. His head was bowed low as he made his way to his dorm. Naturally, he bumped into someone, and naturally, that certain someone was Draco Malfoy.

"Dray, I'm sorry, let me get that…" he started as he began to pick up Draco's fallen books.

"It's fine." With a sad, yet slightly frightened look, Draco moved to pass Harry. Harry held out his hand to stop him.

"Can we talk? Please, Dray? You need to understand… I couldn't control…"

"I said it is fine." Draco's eyes flashed in the angry way that they used to.

"But Dray…" his hand brushed Draco's chest and the blond shivered.

"Please… just… don't touch me." His eyes filled with tears. "Please… don't hurt me again." He slid down the wall and put his face in his hands. "You… you told me you loved me… just minutes before-"

"I DO LOVE YOU!" Harry exploded, making Draco cringe. Harry's features softened as he knelt in front of Draco.

"Dray, you didn't hear it. I wasn't myself… it was the Imperious… Dray, I would NEVER willingly hurt you. Never. Please believe me. I'm dying without you."

"Dray…" Draco began.

"I always call you Dray. You're my Dray. You always will be, if I have a way to control that."

"…I'm not your Dragon?"

"What? No, Draco. I never call you Dragon…"

"You _were _under the Imperious."

Harry's expression went from desperate to extremely happy. "Yes. Yes! Oh, thank god you believe me, I thought you'd never speak to me again."

"I wouldn't have… if you hadn't just called me…"

He paused.

"That night… you called me _Dragon_."


	9. A Sudden Lapse of Judgement

Howdy! A somewhat short chapter, and for that I'm sorry. I have a lot of work to do, but I didn't want to leave anyone hanging. You know what I would kill for? Illustrations for this story... I don't know, maybe Harry finding Draco after Nott and Flint hurt him, or the dungeon scene. I think that would be so cool. - anyone know where I can find a good artist?!

* * *

**Chapter 9: A Sudden Lapse of Judgement**

Harry had tried his best to focus in potions the next day, but his thoughts kept straying to Draco. After his apology, Harry had held the broken boy for what seemed like hours, placing his lips on Draco's forehead and whispering words of comfort and love. He tried his very hardest to make the blond feel as wanted and loved as he deserved to be.

Somehow, the feeling of Draco's clothed body against his just wasn't enough to quench his longing to know Draco in a new, more physical way. Everything about him was beautiful in Harry's eyes, and he dreamt of the day that he could show Draco what a physical relationship should feel like. He wanted Draco to stop fearing it.

Harry wished with all of his heart that he could take the other night back. Sure, Draco had forgiven him, and he understood that it wasn't Harry's fault, but how could he fully trust him again? The guilt remained too much for Harry to bear. He had pictured his first time with Draco as a romantic night in which Harry could prove his love, not as a forced, painful night on a dungeon floor with two other men watching.

Draco's screams and whimpers from that night reverberated in Harry's mind now. Draco wasn't okay, even if he said he was. If Draco wasn't okay, neither was Harry.

His thoughts were rudely interrupted when a furious Snape slammed a large textbook on Harry's desk; just missing Harry's tapping fingers.

"Kindly do your class a favor, Mister Potter, and place your daydreams in the backseat of your priorities during my class. Ten points from Gryffindor for failure to pay attention..." Groans were heard from the Gryffindor side of the room. "…and another ten for that disturbingly stupid look on your face while doing so." Snape smiled smugly as the Slytherin side of the class filled with faint snickers.

Harry wanted nothing more than to give what his professor had coming to him.

He probably would have, if while scanning the classroom for Slytherins to glower at, his eyes didn't meet Draco's. The look was a confusing one. It didn't show any sign of enjoying what Snape had said. It was a mixture of sadness and worry. Was Draco worried about Harry? Harry couldn't have that. He had a feeling that Draco thought his "daydreams" were something that Draco should be concerned about, that maybe Harry wasn't happy with him. Harry refused to give the smaller boy another thing to worry about. Harry's confused face broke into a reassuring smile, and it was returned with a half-hearted one from the Slytherin across the room.

When class was dismissed, Harry told Hermione and Ron to go ahead and that he needed to have a word with Snape.

"Alright, Harry. Have fun with Dra- I mean… Snape." Hermione was too good. Harry muttered a quick, "goodbye," and walked over to Draco's desk as the blond placed his books in his bag.

Not thinking, Harry took this opportunity of Draco facing the opposite way to snake his arms around him from behind. The contact made Draco jump and whimper, and Harry spun his lover around by his hips. He tried to look into Draco's eyes, but they were clasped shut, and Draco shivered.

"Dray, it's only me," Harry started worriedly as he enveloped his boyfriend. Draco melted into the embrace.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I'm a bit jumpy."

"Don't be sorry. That was stupid on my part. I should have known…"

"Known what? That I'm a weak little coward who needs special treatment so I don't have a nervous breakdown?" Harry was startled by this.

"Dray, is that really what you think? It's not your fault that you've been…"

"Not my fault that I've been hurt in the past? No, I suppose it isn't _entirely_ my fault, but it is my fault that I can't move on and at least _try_ to be normal."

"Draco! It happened three nights ago! Did you expect to be just fine overnight?" Draco's eyes filled with tears steadily.

"No, I suppose not. I guess it was just wishful thinking." Harry moved to hold Draco again, but Draco turned away hastily. "I'm tired of being weak, Harry."

"Dray, you know I'm here…"

"Can you just… not be? Just for a little while?" Harry panicked.

"What? Draco, what are you saying?"

"I just need some time to be alone. Please, Harry. It's for the best."

"I'm not sure that I can do that." Draco turned again to look at Harry. His face was stained with tears of emotion. Draco clenched his hands into fists in frustration.

"Piss off, Potter." Harry turned on his heal and ran for it. He didn't look back. He couldn't.

If he had, he would have seen Draco fall to the floor in tears, knowing that he made the biggest mistake of his life.

"It's for the best," Draco repeated, but this time to attempt to assure only himself. He was always gifted when it came to convincing people. There was always one person he could never fool: himself.

Snape returned to the classroom about twenty minutes later to find his godson in a ball on the floor. He ran to his side in a rush of panic.

"Draco, are you hurt? Draco… Draco, speak to me." Severus placed his arm around his godson and student's shoulders and brought him into his own body, rocking the boy back and forth.

"When- When will I be okay, Sev?" he asked shakily. His godfather let out a long, pained sigh and looked into Draco's stone cold eyes.

"You have the mask over your eyes, Dragon. You know I can see through it. Why are you putting that emotionless look on?"

Draco sighed. "It was for Harry."

"What happened?"

"I told him to get lost." Severus couldn't hide his surprise. As angry as he was at Potter, he knew what was best for Draco, and he knew that Harry was just what he needed right now.

"Why, Draco?"

"I need to sort things out. I'm tired of him having to comfort me. I'm tired of being his prize that he needs to protect. I'm not made of glass, Sev. I just need to figure out a way to prove it." Severus got up angrily.

"You don't understand it, do you?" Draco looked up, frightened by Snape's outburst. "He knows that Draco. You proved it when you forgave him, when you didn't give up on becoming close to someone. You proved it so many times, Draco. The problem isn't how POTTER sees you. It's how YOU see you. Don't you see, Draco? By pushing him away, you gave him the impression that you are indeed weak, and for the first time, he may have seen you that way."

Draco dejectedly placed his head in his hands and let out a sigh. Snape's scowl quickly changed into a frown as he sat back down next to his godson.

"Why do I seem to do everything wrong?"

"There you go again. What happened to that self-absorbed, cocky, outgoing Draco Malfoy that I used to know, hmm?"

"He became a whore. He became a low-life, good-for-nothing, broken, twisted, depressed whore." For the first time, Severus Snape almost struck his godson. His hand itched to smack some sense back into the boy.

"Go fix this, Draco. You need him. More importantly, he needs you."

* * *

**Please review! I'm loving the ones I've gotten so far. You all are so sweet. **


	10. Another Attack, and a Truce

Happy Valentines Day! You weren't supposed to get anything today, but New York was blessed with a snowday! Think of this as my Valentine's day gift to you. In return, a review would be lovely!

**Chapter 10: Another Attack, and a Truce**

Harry's head was swimming. The truth came out. Draco couldn't trust him anymore, let alone forgive him for what he did. Harry muttered the password to the concerned looking Fat Lady and tripped into the common room to find it surprisingly empty. He flopped down on the couch in front of the fire and let every emotion he had been feeling for the past few minutes escape.

Harry was alone, and it was eating away at him slowly and painfully.

Just then, Hermione and Ron strolled in through the portrait pleasantly. Their smiles faded as their eyes rested on their best friend and they scrambled over to his side.

"Harry, what happened?" Harry could only shake his head and cry harder. Hermione wrapped an arm around him reassuringly. She already figured out what must have happened. Ron however, was still very much in the dark.

"Mate, you gotta tell us what's wrong. This can't be good for you. You'll flood the corridors!" he added with a nervous laugh at the end, only to receive a glare from Hermione.

"Alright, Harry. We'll leave you be. Please come and talk to us when you're ready, okay? And just give Draco time. He'll come around." With a final wink from Hermione and a confused look from Ron, Harry was left alone with his thoughts again.

He needed more of an explanation. He wasn't going to let Draco off the hook that easily. He hastily wiped his eyes and sprang up from the couch, grabbed his map and hopped out of the portrait again. Determination now overtook his sadness.

* * *

Draco had checked the Great Hall, the library, and Hagrid's hut. There was only one place that he thought Harry could possibly be. He was in his common room. Draco's mind raced back to remember the Gryffindor's face when Draco had so evilly broken the relationship off, sending the boy out of his life. Just thinking of Harry being heartbroken was killing Draco. He never wanted to hurt anyone. With each second he felt more and more like his father.

'You're scum, Draco Malfoy.' He thought as he turned on his heels to retreat to the Slytherin common room. His plans were cut short, however, when some arms snaked around his hips from behind and warm kisses were placed behind his ears.

Draco was confused. Had he dreamt the break-up? Why was Harry being so friendly? Either way, he was happy that he could skip a step and turned around to come face to face with… not Harry.

"Hands off, Flint." He tried to sound as menacing as he could. It was working. Marcus flinched slightly, but his stony expression quickly hid his slip. He slowly, but forcefully pressed Draco against the stone wall.

"Ouch. I just figured you'd want some practice, Malfoy. What, with Voldy not around and the fact that you just broke the Golden Boy's heart and all-"

"Where did you hear that?" Draco asked, still trying to put up a front. He was still growing more scared by the minute. He couldn't deny the fact that Flint was definitely favored in a physical altercation with the small blonde.

"I saw Potter sprinting towards his common room not to long ago. Poor boy, he looked devastated. I knew you'd let him go eventually. Not good enough in bed for the famous Draco Malfoy?" Flint's lips came dangerously close to Draco's ear as he whispered these last words, each word dripping with more lust than the last. "Give me a shot, **_Dragon_**." Draco visibly shivered and Flint laughed. "Your father told me that name would break you." With this, the much larger boy grabbed both of Draco's arms and held them over Draco's head. He grabbed his wand from his pocket and aimed it at Draco's chest. "_Stupefy." _Draco fell unconsciously into Flint's waiting arms. "_Mobili-corpus."_ Marcus made his way back to the dungeons of the school with the cursed Malfoy dragging behind him due to the movement charm.

* * *

Harry scanned the Marauder's Map for Draco. His stomach dropped like a rock when he saw where he was.

Draco Malfoy was in a corridor with Marcus Flint, following him to the Slytherin common room. Harry's heart nearly exploded. "Well, doesn't he move on fast? And to the guy I saved him from. Stupid whore. _Mischief managed." _He muttered sadly. He slowly placed his wand in his pocket and turned towards the Great Hall to find his friends.

Just as he sat down, Blaise and Pansy rushed in.

"Harry. Harry! Have you seen Draco?" Blaise asked breathlessly.

"Why?" Harry asked nonchalantly. Didn't they know that Draco and Harry weren't together anymore?

"We got this cryptic answer from Nott when we asked him. He told us he was _having some fun._ We figured if he wasn't with you, that was a bad sign."

"Well he's not with me." Harry snapped. "Go ask Flint. I'm pretty sure that's who he's _having his fun_ with." With this, eight eyes came to rest on Harry disbelievingly.

"Harry, Draco would never go off with Flint. They hate each other. You know that. For Merlin's sake, you saved his life from that rat." Pansy said, clearly irritated.

"Maybe they kissed and made up, Pansy. Check the common room. I'm sure they're there, having a grand old time." Blaise stood up angrily.

"Did you have something to do with this, Potter? Did you set this up?" Harry was taken aback.

"Set what up?"

"You don't get it? Harry, whatever fun is being had, it's one-sided, and you know that. How could you let this happen? Oh gods, Draco…" Blaise looked like he was on the verge of tears as he and Pansy raced from the Great Hall, leaving a very confused Harry in their wake.

The duo sprinted their way towards the portrait, shouted the password and stumbled in. Immediately, they made their way towards the boys' dormitory to find that it was locked.

"Alohamora!" Pansy shouted and the door swung open. "Stupid Flint." She muttered. "A first-year could break that-" but her sentence was cut off as Blaise flung himself away from her in the direction of an unconscious, half naked Draco on his bed. He shook Draco, hoping that he would stir.

"Dray. Draco. Draco! Wake up. Please _wake up_." Tears prickled Blaise's eyes as he got more irritated, shaking his best friend more vigorously. He suddenly stopped and buried his face in the blonde's bare chest… just more proof that they had been too late.

"Blaise, baby, stop it." Pansy placed a hand on Blaise's shoulder. _"Ennervate." _Draco woke up in Blaise's arms, confused.

"Wha-" he started, but then remembered. "Oh, God…" he started and sat up abruptly.

"Draco, what happened?" Pansy asked, sitting on the side of Draco and rubbing his bare back, trying to subdue his shivers.

"I don't… quite know." He started, and then put his face in his hands. "I was looking for Harry. I had made a mistake… I had to apologize… when I felt someone come up and hold me from behind. It wasn't Harry. It was Flint. He made it sound like my father sent him to… well… he hexed me and brought me here. I think we all know what happened next."

"Harry knew you were with Flint." Draco looked at them in disbelief.

"He what?" his voice cracked as he choked on his tears. Pansy pulled him towards her.

"We asked where you were. He told us you were off with Flint." Blaise said, angrily.

"Why would he- Why wouldn't he help me?" Draco had never felt so unwanted in his entire life.

"I think we should go ask Potter."

"It's my fault. I… I hurt Harry earlier… he must just be angry."

"Angry enough to know you're being hurt and not want to help you? Dray, face it, the guy must be heartless."

Draco got up from the bed, took his shirt off the chair and quickly buttoned it. Without casting a second glance at his two friends, he went in search of Harry. This time it wasn't to make up. This time it was to find some answers.

It didn't take long to spot Potter. He was walking lazily out of the Great Hall with the other two members of his Golden Trio. Without hesitation, Draco strode over to them.

"Potter, can I see you… alone?" Harry flinched at the use of his last name, but angrily followed Draco anyway.

"How could you do that to me?" Draco asked, trying to mask his emotions, but found himself failing for one of the first times in his life.

"Here's a better question. How could you move on so quickly? And to Marcus Flint of all people?!" Draco nearly choked.

"Moving on?!" Draco asked, outraged. "You call being blindsided, hexed and raped by one of my father's cronies MOVING ON?" He pushed Harry forcefully into a wall. The fury was more that Harry could process. He was too focused on Draco's last words. "I was looking for you. I was coming to tell you that I had made a mistake… that I just wanted to figure some things out and that I hadn't realized how much I needed you." His voice cracked continuously as he stepped away from Harry.

"I thought you two were…"

"Do you know me at all?" Draco asked sadly.

"I was just so overwhelmed… when I saw that you were with him on my map…"

"Oh. The map." Draco turned away. "I thought… I thought you watched him drag me away."

"No!" Harry interjected. "Oh, Dray. I would never. I would never let you get hurt, no matter how upset I was. I had no idea Draco… I had no idea." Harry slid down the wall and cried. "I was coming to find you too. I needed an explanation. When I saw that you were following Flint back to your room… my heart broke. I didn't even think of a rational explanation. I'm so sorry Draco. I could have helped. I could have stopped him." By now, Draco was next to Harry, wrapping his arms around him and comforting him the way that Harry had for the past few weeks.

"Maybe he didn't do anything to me." Draco reasoned. Harry looked at him in disbelief. Draco shrugged in response. "Maybe he just wanted to intimidate me. Maybe he just hexed me and took my shirt off. Maybe he just left after that for someone to find me." With that, he got up and offered his hand to Harry to help him do the same. "Truce?" he asked.

"Well, I was hoping for more than a truce." Harry said sadly as he took the outstretched hand. Draco smiled and pulled Harry into him, getting lost in his scent as he explored the mouth that was so well-known to him by now. Harry pulled away.

"I need you, Dray."


	11. A Trip to the Dark Side

Hey, guys. I'm sorry about this chapter. I wasn't feeling particularly inspired at the moment. I hope it turned out okay. Please review and tell me what you think of it.

**Chapter 11: A trip to the Dark Side**

Draco had done everything he could to make things normal again, but Harry wasn't the least bit helpful. If Draco's smirk so much as faltered, or if he looked away from Harry for a second too long, questions bombarded him in an instant. Draco had been feeling much better in the week since the last incident, but Harry couldn't seem to move on.

Draco had been busy writing a potions essay that was due the next morning in the library, when exhibit A moved towards him.

"Hey, Draco," he started, placing a quick kiss on the blonde's cheek and pulling up a chair right next to him. Harry's hot breath made its way down Draco's neck as he read Draco's essay over his shoulder. Draco rolled his eyes, spun in his chair and turned to face his boyfriend, waiting to hear what Harry had to say.

Draco crossed his eyes to look at his encroaching bangs as he attempted to blow them out of his eyes. Harry smirked and gave him some help, running his fingers through Draco's silver strands of hair and looking into his eyes. He didn't want to break this moment, but he had an idea, and needed to run it by Draco.

"I think you should go to Madame Pomfrey." Draco stared blankly back at him. "Maybe she can figure out what happened between you and Flint. You know, run some tests to make sure you're…"

"No," was the simple reply as Draco turned back to his essay. Harry sighed and placed his hand on Draco's back, rubbing it in small circles around his spine.

"Dray, I know you're embarrassed and scared, but…"

"No, Harry. You don't know. You don't know anything about it, so you can just drop the subject, okay?"

Harry was taken aback, not necessarily by the words themselves, but by the icy glare that came along with them. He felt as if he wasn't talking to his Draco anymore, but to Malfoy, his rival, his enemy. He dejectedly dropped his hand from its place on Draco's back and let it hang limp by his side. He was greatly reminded of the last argument they had, which ultimately led to this whole horrible thing with Flint in the first place.

"Think about it, okay?" he mumbled as he stood up and walked out of the library, leaving Draco alone to feel almost as badly as he had at the end of their last argument.

The truth of the matter was, Draco couldn't tell anybody about what had happened. He had cornered Flint two days after the incident, and he demanded to know what was done to him. In response, Marcus simply let a mocking laughter turn into a snarl as he walked away. He no longer believed in his theory of intimidation. If it had been true, Flint would have said so and laughed at Draco's expense. It was his silence that proved to Draco what he had hoped hadn't happened. He just didn't have the heart to tell Harry.

There was something else that kept him from running to professors for help. Slytherin as a whole already wanted to see him in as much pain as possible. If he had gotten Flint in trouble, they would have been even angrier with him. Who knows what they would do to him then?

All of this put such a weight on his shoulders that he simply wasn't an ideal person to be around. Instead of crying about it, he decided to put his old mask on. He decided to become Draco Malfoy: Slytherin Prince once again. Not in the literal sense of course, considering he was currently being shunned by his house, but his personality was slowly becoming the mirror image of his old self.

Draco wasn't sure if he should be scared of this change, or relieved. He chose to use it to his advantage. Maybe if he put on his old charade, his house would embrace him again. Not necessarily embrace, as they never embraced him to begin with… but fear. Draco wanted to be feared again. He wanted their respect. Maybe he would become normal. Normalcy was all he wanted. He was going to do everything he could to make sure he achieved it.

"So tell us again Harry. What happened with Draco?" Pansy was getting on Harry's last nerve.

"Why does it matter what he said and how he said it? Malfoy hates me. End of story. I'm over it. You guys should be too."

"Don't be daft, Harry," Blaise cut in, "You care about him just as much as we do. Look… I think I know what's going on with him. I've always been able to read Draco like a book. And by the way, Harry, don't ever call him 'Malfoy' again. Do you understand? That's a foul name we reserve for his father and his father alone. Got it?" Harry simply nodded, only because he still feared Zabini, even after months of knowing him.

"How could anyone read Mal- I mean… Draco like a book?" Ron started, with a look of confusion. "He's expressionless."

"That's what he wants everyone to think. I've known him since before he could speak. That's beside the point. Do you wanna hear what I think or not?" Everyone nodded vigorously. "He's trying to regain respect. He's trying to get back to normal. He wants to forget that all of this has happened. Unfortunately, you three," he pointed at Harry, Hermione and Ron, "aren't in his equation anymore."

"So you're telling us that he wants to just drop us all? He wants to dump us and go back to being… I'm sorry, Blaise, I have to say it… back to being _Malfoy_?" Hermione asked, bewildered. Zabini just nodded. Hermione flushed an angry shade of red and picked up the Marauder's map. She spun around and stomped out of the library, leaving everyone with very alarmed expressions on their faces.

"Well, Hermione's on the case. All is well. Who's up for some Wizard's Chess?" Ron asked, rubbing his hands together.

Hermione angrily pulled out the tattered parchment and mumbled, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." She tapped her foot as she searched the map for a sign of Draco. "_Bingo_," she said. "He's on his way to see Snape." She broke off at a run to catch him.

Panting, she caught up to Draco and spun him around by his shoulders. His icy glare made her want to cry.

"What can I do for you, Granger?" he asked, his voice dripping with venom. Then she saw it: the trademark Malfoy smirk.

"What has gotten into you?" she asked, trying not to break down and cry. She wouldn't let him know that what he was doing was killing her.

"What do you mean? If you must know, I'm going for a stroll. Now, run along, frizzy. You're boring me." He snarled and moved to walk away. He grabbed him and slammed him against the wall before he know what she was doing.

"You're not heartless. Don't pretend that you are. You aren't fooling anybody. You're just going to lose the only people who matter. You won't gain anything. You're just a coward." She hissed and he cringed. His eyes softened as she loosened her grip.

"You're right." Hermione forgot to breathe.

"Damn right I am, Draco."

"Thanks, Hermione."

"For what?"

"For not calling me Malfoy. That probably would have sealed the deal for me. You never would have gotten me back." He said with a nervous laugh.

"Well, thanks to you too, Draco."

"For what?"

"For not calling me a mudblood. That would have sealed the deal for me. And you would probably have caused me to inflict a tremendous amount of pain on you, Blondie." She giggled and ruffled his hair. A small smile emerged on his face as he stopped her from walking any further. Before she knew what was going on, she felt herself in a bone crushing embrace.

"Thanks for caring, Granger."


	12. A Special Case

I know it's been five months since I last posted. I'm a horrible fan, I know. I had such intense writer's block though. I'm back, though! I promise.**  
**

**Chapter 12: A Special Case**

Draco slowly walked down the corridor to speak to Snape. He cherished every moment that he spent alone, so the trip took longer than usual. He used this time to clear his thoughts. The incident with the others, and Hermione especially replayed in his mind. Draco was astounded that he could have ever even tricked himself into thinking that being "Malfoy" was any better than being his new and improved self. During this stroll, one thing became clear to him. He had Blaise, Pansy, Hermione, Ron, Severus and of course, Harry at his side. He didn't need anybody else. He cursed at himself for ever thinking otherwise.

Without even knocking, Draco opened the door to Snape's living quarters. Snape was practically his father, so knocking on his door would be like knocking before entering his own home. Severus turned around, startled.

"Sorry, Sev. I didn't mean to scare you." Draco said, feeling badly about bursting in.

"Don't think on it, Draco. Come, sit down." Snape gestured to the old, worn out couch that was probably older than Dumbledore, and put away his cauldron and potion supplies. He had clearly been brewing something before Draco's arrival. "I thought I told you to get more sleep. Those rings around your eyes might just engulf your entire face by Thursday if you don't take care of yourself. Your eyes are far from the silver that I used to see as well. Gray is simply not as nice of a color as silver, you know."

"Good. Maybe he won't want me anymore if I grow increasingly repulsive."

Severus, automatically associating "he" with Harry, became quite interested. "Trouble in paradise?"

"You call that paradise? No offense, Sev, but that was probably the worst sympathy joke ever told."

"What went wrong?"

Draco snorted. "Can you stop? Please? I don't even want to think about him until I have to see him again. Have you received word of when that might be?"

"Well, Draco… I would assume that would be during my class tomorrow, if you don't want to see him before…"

"WHAT?"

Snape jumped at the cry from his godson. "What is going on with you?" Then it clicked, and he felt increasingly stupid as he looked at Draco's alarmed face. "Oh, Draco, I thought you were talking about Harry!"

A breath that was obviously being held for a very long time escaped Draco's lips. "Any word about when I have to see the _other_ he, then? And don't tell me I have to see _him_ during your class tomorrow, too."

"Trust me, Draco, if I had any idea, I would have told you about it straight away." Snape took a deep breath. "I'm not sending you home anymore, Draco. You can count on that."

Draco looked up from picking at his fingernails in surprise. He raised an eyebrow, and for a moment, Severus saw the old Draco staring back at him incredulously. He couldn't help but smirk back. "How are you going to manage that, Sev?"

"Trust me, Draco. We'll find a way. And as for where you'll stay instead… I was thinking you could either stay with me on holidays… or perhaps you would prefer to spend them with Harry and Company with frequent visits from your favorite person in the world." With this, he pointed with both index fingers at himself and Draco let out a half laugh, half sigh.

"I don't think my father will ever really go for that." Snape shuddered as the word "father" escaped Draco's lips. Lucius Malfoy didn't deserve that title, for Draco or any other child.

"Lucius won't have any choice in the matter if I have anything to do with it. Trust me, Draco. I'm going to keep you safe from now on, no matter where you stay. Where would you like to spend your holidays?"

Draco shifted as he thought about his answer to this. "I don't know. Both options seem really great. I don't want to intrude on anybody…"

"I've already asked permission for you to stay with Harry at his godfather's house. You are quite welcome there, and Hermione and Ron will be joining you there quite soon after you arrive."

"I don't know, Sev. I would love to stay with you, too…"

"To be honest, Harry's house is safer than mine, with all of the charms surrounding it so it can't be seen. However, we both know that I would die saving you if I had to…"

Draco shuddered at that thought.

"…so you would be quite safe at either place. Here's a deal for you to consider. Would you like to spend some time with me, and some time with your friends, like Hermione does?"

Draco's expression quickly brightened. "That sounds great."

Snape smirked at his godson. "Now onto more depressing matters, Draco. Are you still being treated badly by Nott and Flint? Or by the rest of your house at all?"

Draco's jaw clenched. Somebody tipped Snape off about what had happened. "Who told you?"

"Nobody told me anything. I just assumed…"

"Who told you?"

"That's beside the point Draco. I'm asking you…"

"WHO TOLD YOU?"

Snape stared into his godson's fiery eyes with surprise tearing at his facial features.

"Was it Harry?"

"No. No it was not Harry, Draco."

"Hermione?"

Snape shook his head.

"Blaise and Pansy?"

Snape just stared at him.

"I'll kill them. I will…"

They came to me the day it happened Draco. They told me about how they found you. They did the right thing by coming to me. Why didn't you want me to know?"

"Because he'll be punished and my house will hate me even more!" Tears quickly welled up in Draco's eyes, and Severus could tell he was fighting a losing battle against them.

Silence filled the room as Severus held himself back from rushing to Draco's side and holding him.

"You are right about one thing. He WILL be punished. But nobody will do anything else to harm you."

"I have to SLEEP with these people, Sev! How are you going to prevent them from getting back at me?!"

"By giving you your own room."

Draco simply stared at his godfather. "They never do that."

"For certain circumstances, they do. Professor Dumbledore has already agreed to it. We have to get you out of there, Draco."

"Will I still be a Slytherin?"

"Of course. Where you sleep doesn't change that. We won't make up a whole new house for you. Sorry. You may be a special kid, but nobody's THAT special."

Snape was relieved to hear Draco laugh at this. After a few moments of silence, Draco's eyes met Snape's, and Severus could have sworn that his eyes flickered silver. Before he could do a double-take, however, the silver was engulfed by gray once more.

"Okay. I'll do that."

* * *

Please review!

And by the way, who is totally PUMPED for the new movie? I'm going to see it with a bunch of friends at midnight tomorrow. I'm so stoked! Then the new book just 10 days later? Talk about the best 10 days of my life! haha.


	13. A Little Quidditch Between Lovers

Did everyone LOVE the movie? I've seen it twice already. LOVE IT. I'm so excited for the book, too. Anyway, get reading... and please review! I would really love more reviews than the 4 per chapter that I've been getting!

**Chapter 13: What's a Little Quidditch Between Lovers? **

The day was perfect – weather-wise, that is. For Draco, this was probably going to be one of the worse days that he spent at Hogwarts this year. Today was the infamous quidditch match between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

If Draco could have it his way, he wouldn't even try. He wouldn't even put up a fight for the snitch. He would let Harry win. Things weren't as easy as that, though. Deep down he knew that if he lost, there would be a lot of trouble tonight in the common room. Unfortunately, the whole room situation wasn't completely settled yet. Draco already knew he wouldn't be sleeping tonight.

He stood across from Harry and smirked back at his unsure opponent. Harry was obviously battling his own mind as well. Draco hadn't told Harry what losing could mean for him, but Draco could see that Harry was thinking of going easy on Draco simply because he wanted to be nice.

"On my whistle." Madam Hooch said, snapping the two nervous players out of their trance. A second later, Draco found himself in the air without a clue as to how he even got there. It was as if he was on auto-pilot.

He watched Harry out of the corner of his eye as sweat began to form on his forehead. He was getting more frightened by the moment as he looked around at his housemates. They were all sneering at him from both the air and the stands.

The game went on like this for hours, and eventually the score was 120 – 100. Slytherin was winning and Harry was looking more and more worried by the minute. Draco knew the choice that Harry had made. He wasn't going to give up a Quidditch game. Not for Draco, and not for anyone. Draco took this into account and decided to go all out as well.

Just then, Draco saw Harry speed off in the other direction. Alarmed, Draco followed suit with twice as much speed, determined not to let Harry win.

"Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter are battling it out for the snitch as they have many times before! Well, everybody, we know how this will end… the same way Gryffindor has defeated Slytherin so many times before!" Lee Jordan sang out from the stands. "Hope you all enjoyed the-"

Harry saw it out of the corner of his eye. Nott had beaten a bludger straight at them. He knew it wasn't meant for him. It was heading towards Draco at an alarming rate. Before Harry could so much as move, he heard a loud crack from beside him as Draco's hand enveloped the snitch.

He then watched, as if paralyzed, as his boyfriend fell from his broom with the small golden ball still clenched in his hand.

Silence filled the field as Harry snapped out of his state and dove quickly towards the ground. He caught Draco, pulled him into his arms and finished a very impressive Wronsky Feint as the crowd cheered. Stopping as quickly as possible, he laid Draco down on the grass and noticed for the first time what the cracking sound he had heard must have been.

Draco's beautiful white hair was far from its usual color. Mixed into it were shades of dirt and, frighteningly, blood. The blood was quickly spreading as if it were a hair dye. Tears filled his eyes as he was hastily shoved away by Madame Pomfrey and Snape.

"Oh, dear. Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear." Madame Pomfrey said in almost a whisper. "Severus, please help me bring him to the hospital wing immediately." Snape said nothing but scooped up his godson in his arms as Harry had seen him do many times before, and followed the nurse into the castle.

"Um… Slytherin wins." Lee Jordan simply said with a shrug.

Harry couldn't move. He simply sat in the grass as all of the teams headed into the locker rooms and the houses left the stands.

"Nice save, Golden Boy." Harry unconsciously curled his hands into fists. He leapt to his feet and spun around.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" He screamed. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Aww, I'm sorry, Potter, but we just can't do that. You see, your little boyfriend is scum, and do you know what has to be done with scum?"

Silence.

"It needs to be cleaned, Potter."

"You could have killed him."

"I know. It's too bad that it didn't work out the way I was hoping-"

BAM.

Silence again.

"You did NOT just hit me, Potter." The Slytherins quickly moved in on Harry.

"Don't touch him." Harry spun around to see his teammates quickly running to his side.

"So, Nott. You were willing to give up the game for a cheap shot at your own player?" Katie Bell said, raising an eyebrow.

"How classy." Harry smirked as Hermione ran up to the crowd of Quidditch players.

"What do you say to the old rule: An eye for an eye?" Ron said, quickly advancing on Nott. Harry hastily pulled him back.

"That is ENOUGH." Professor McGonigall shouted as she scurried towards the two quarreling teams. "Everyone to your common rooms IMMEDIATELY." Both teams turned to leave. "Not you, Nott." Theodore turned around slowly.

"Why not? It was just a mistake."

"Professor Dumbledore wishes to have a word. Follow me."

Harry watched them both leave, hoping that the school would be rid of the foul creature soon enough.

"Harry, you were brilliant." Hermione said, rubbing his back. "Don't worry, he'll be fine. He always is."

Harry hoped with all of his heart that Hermione's streak of always being right wasn't going to end with her last statement.


	14. Making It Right

Sorry for the short delay. How did everyone like the book? I was slightly disappointed to find that Draco didn't end up coming from a shadow and being a closet hero like Snape was, but other than that I adored it. I'm also a dork that has seen the 5th movie 5 times now. My friends think I've lost it.

But enough about me. On with the fanfiction! This chapter is slightly longer. It's more like my earlier, less-rushed chapters. I hope you like it!

**Chapter 14: Making It Right  
**

Harry paced in front of the hospital wing doors. He had been doing just this for the past four hours. That is how long Draco had been in there. Every few steps he would pause, scratch his head as if he were perplexed, and continue. A bored sigh broke him out of his pattern.

"Harry, can we at least go and grab some food from the kitchens? We missed dinner…" Ron was slouched against a wall with Hermione sitting politely next to him, trying not to let Harry see how bored she was.

"You two can go. I'm going to wait here until Snape comes back out." It was as if those were the magic words. Less than a minute later, Snape opened the door and gazed down at the three students as if he knew they would be there.

"He's fine. He needs rest. They'll discharge him tomorrow. You can see him then." Without so much as a backwards glance, he walked briskly down the corridor.

"I'm sick of not being able to see him every time he's in there. When I get injured, visitors are allowed… for the most part."

"Well, Harry, they must have their reasons." Hermione stated, hoping to calm Harry down.

"Yeah, to worry me to death."

"More like to keep you from worrying to death." Harry shot her a confused look. "Think about it, Harry. If you were to go in there, you would probably make such a big fuss over Draco that nobody would get any peace." Harry's look of confusion quickly morphed into a glare. "Sorry. You know it's true."

"Stop arguing." Ron said.

"Wow, Ron. It's not like you to be the mediator in an argument." Hermione said with a hint of surprise.

"No. Someone's coming."

As if on cue, Blaise and Pansy emerged from around a corner.

"Alright, Harry? Nice save today." Blaise said. "Thank Merlin he has you around, eh?"

For some reason, this statement made Harry angry.

"Yeah. Who knows what would have happened if you hadn't been there. Imagine if we had been playing Hufflepuff today? Draco would have been as good as dead…" Pansy's voice trailed off as she saw Harry trying to subdue his frustration and anger. "So… no visitors tonight, then?"

"Not me, anyway." Harry said, dejectedly.

Confusion was written all over both Slytherins' faces.

Ron decided to try to explain. "Harry's convinced Pomfrey is ganging up on him by never letting him see Draco when he's in there. Personally, I think he's gone a little mental if that's what…"

"MENTAL, HUH? IS THAT WHAT YOU THINK?"

All of the color in Ron's face was quickly washed away in panic.

"Why doesn't everyone just leave me alone? I don't want to see or talk to anyone right now. Is it so wrong to want to see him while he's in there? Is it so wrong to be worried? I'M THE ONE WHO CAUGHT HIM. I SAVED HIS LIFE AND YOU'RE ALL ACTING LIKE EVERYTHING IS FINE. What if it wasn't? Would you all be sitting here, joking around then?" Silence was his only response. "What if he had been paralyzed? What if there had been brain damage? What if…" His voice cracked painfully. "What if he died?"

"Harry…" Pansy started, but he was already down the corridor.

* * *

Pansy, Hermione, Blaise and Ron sat quietly by the lake the next day. They had nothing to say to each other. They all felt horrible for how they made Harry feel the day before. They didn't need conversation. Misery just loved company. 

"Here you are. I've been looking all over! I thought you all got expelled for ganging up and beating up Nott and Flint. I haven't seen either of them yet, either." Draco flopped down beside Pansy. He was quickly embraced in a tight hug from her.

"How are you feeling? We've been worried."

"Fine, fine. Good as new actually. I probably wouldn't have been if Harry hadn't caught me. That's what Pomfrey told me, anyway." He looked around. "Where is he, anyway?"

Nobody answered for a few moments, then Hermione cleared her throat. "He was on edge all day yesterday after what happened. He was kind of snapping at everyone because Pomfrey and Snape wouldn't let him see you. We waited around for hours and then Pansy and Blaise tried to lighten the mood. He kind of…"

"He lost it and ran away afterwards." Ron finished for her. She sent a glare his way. "What? It's true. He went completely mental!"

"I can only imagine." Hermione transferred her glare meant for Ron to Draco. "What? He's not one to stay cool under certain circumstances. Listen, I'm going to go find him. Maybe seeing that I'm all right will cheer him up." He stood up.

"And if that fails, I'm sure you can think of another way to cheer him up." Blaise winked. This earned him a smack on the back of the head.

"Git." Draco laughed and walked away. The mood felt much lighter after that.

* * *

Draco had searched all around the castle for Harry. He wished he had the Marauder's Map more than ever. 

Remembering what happened last time he went off to find Harry by himself, he put his guard up, searched the corridor he was in one last time, and made his way to Hagrid's Hut. Periodically he had checked the infirmary, and each time Pomfrey told him that she hadn't seen Harry since the day before. Draco was getting worried and hoped to Merlin that he was safe with Hagrid.

After a long walk Draco was feeling dizzy. He was sure that all of the exertion couldn't have been the best thing for him so soon after his injury, but he knocked on Hagrid's door without giving it another thought. Harry was all he could think about now.

Draco heard Hagrid's voice from inside the hut. "See, Harry? I told yeh they'd come lookin' for yeh, di'int I?" Draco felt his heart get lighter. Harry was safe.

Hagrid opened the door and his face transformed from a look of expecting to surprise. He turned to Harry. "Well, it's not who we thought it was." Harry grunted in response. "It's better!" With that, he yanked Draco from the front step and almost threw him at Harry.

"Hey…" Draco started, but Harry was already on his feet and clutching onto Draco for dear life. Draco laughed. "Miss me?"

"More than you could imagine." Came the muffled reply. Harry had buried his face in the crook of Draco's neck.

Draco slowly pulled away. "I've been looking for you everywhere. I was getting worried. I found the others. They were all a wreck. You'd think someone had died."

"Yeah, well what did you expect? They were probably all really worried about you."

Draco laughed. "Not me, you. Harry, they told me what happened last night. They feel really horribly about it."

"Ron called me mental."

"You?" Draco asked in mock-surprise. "Surely not you!" This was a test to see if Harry's mood had lightened.

It had clearly worked, as Harry laughed and ruffled the blonde's hair.

* * *

Please review. It makes me sad when you don't. Constructive criticism? Praise? (That's my favorite kind!) Ideas? Anything? 


	15. Making Progress

I am so unbelievably sorry that I am such a horrible updater. Never fear though! I have returned, and I have brought SHEER FLUFFINESS. This is a first for this story, wouldn't you say??

Anyway, please enjoy, and drop me a review when you're finished, whether you liked it or not!

* * *

**Chapter 15: Making Progress**

Harry and Draco walked along the grounds of the castle. They didn't speak. They didn't have to. Harry sighed and grabbed his boyfriend's hand. Draco smirked briefly, and led Harry towards the Black Lake.

"Dray…" Harry began. Draco looked at him, surprised when the silence was broken. "Do you think we can… go somewhere else besides the lake? I'm not really ready to see everyone since my outburst last night. Besides…" he pulled Draco into a hug, "I want to have you to myself for a while."

Draco smiled and pulled away. "You lead the way then."

The two quickly found themselves sitting on a patch of grass shaded by a beautiful oak tree. Neither had ever noticed the beauty or privacy of this secluded spot before.

"I was a wreck." Harry began as he leaned against the tree and pulled Draco to lean against him.

"You're always a wreck." Draco joked.

"I was more of a wreck than usual." Harry retorted stubbornly. "When it hit you… it didn't sound good."

"Quick reflexes though. Thanks for saving my life… again." He laughed.

"It was weird," Harry said, ignoring Draco's sarcasm. "It was like it happened in slow motion. It was like the ball hit you, and everything went silent and you floated towards the ground. All I could hear was the blood rushing through my head."

"Well thank you for that recap, Superman."

"How in Merlin's name do you know about Superman?"

"I'm a pureblood, Harry. I'm not stupid. Who doesn't know about Superman?"

"We're both talking about the guy in the spandex with unnaturally big pecks and biceps, a red cape, and an allergy to kryptonite, right?"

"No, Harry. I'm talking about the skinny, clumsy flamboyant guy with long flowing blond hair with unnatural good luck and an allergy to peanuts." Draco turned around and looked seriously into Harry's eyes. "Have people been lying to me about him?"

Harry tried not to laugh. "…Seriously?"

This earned him a smack in the arm. "Of course not, jackass. Yes, we're talking about the same Superman."

And the conversation ended there as they laid back and enjoyed the silence and the occasional small fits of laughter.

"Can I ask you something, Harry?"

"Of course you can."

"Was your life a lot less stressful before?"

"Before what?"

"Before me."

"Less stressful? Slightly. With more stress comes more love, though. And with more love comes more happiness. So I'm thankful for the stress you inflict on my life, even if it potentially causes me to die of a heart attack by age thirty." This earned him another smack. "Two smacks in less than two hours? You've got to be kidding me!" With that, he shoved Draco off of him, pinned him to the ground, and tickled every inch of skin he could get his fingers on.

Hearing Draco laugh was by far the most beautiful thing Harry had ever heard. It was contagious, and soon they were red in the face and gasping for air, but neither would give up.

"Okay, okay! Truce! TRUCE!" Draco finally said, and put his hands up in the air in defeat. Harry laughed and rested his hands where they were, one on Draco's chest and the other on his side. He couldn't help himself anymore. He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on Draco's lips.

Slowly the kiss became deeper. Harry's hand came to cup Draco's cheek while the other one rubbed his side. Moans were let out occasionally when neither one could hold them in anymore. Harry could feel his pants becoming slightly tighter as the hand on Draco's side slid up the blond's shirt slightly to test the water. Draco gave neither sound nor look of protest. Harry's lips left Draco's and Draco's sound of protest turned into a moan when Harry began placing small kisses up and down Draco's neck, and finally his lips came to rest on the blond's collarbone. He nibbled and sucked playfully on it, and Draco's back arched into Harry's kisses.

One hand came to rest on the top button of Draco's shirt. With a quick look to see how Draco would react, he gently pulled the button loose. Draco didn't flinch. He simply lay there with his eyes closed, using one hand to play with Harry's hair. Slowly, three more came undone, and after what seemed like centuries, the blond's shirt was completely open. Harry looked down at the new area of territory that he had yet to explore. His groin was becoming painful at this point.

Harry placed more kisses along Draco's chest and stomach, and quickly found that he had taken a particular liking to the reaction that Draco gave to having his nipples sucked on. Harry did it in an almost teasing manner. The blond's back would arch every time he did it, and a soft moan would escape his lips. By the third time this had been done, however, Harry thought he was going to explode.

He decided to take a chance. Coming back up to kiss Draco on the lips, Harry shifted his weight slightly and felt that Draco was as turned on as he was. He began grinding against the smaller boy as he continued to kiss him, exploring every centimeter of the boy's mouth. He removed a hand from Draco's side and slid it down towards the blond's groin. He adjusted his own weight on the other boy and rested his hand on the other's erection.

Draco's eyes opened. Harry kissed his forehead.

"Will you let me show you what it's like when someone loves you?"

Draco's eyes filled with tears, and Harry's heart broke. Then Draco smiled and nodded.

"Please."


	16. Not the True Truth, Just the Fake Truth

Okay, so I tried to write this first scene without being completely smutty and distasteful. Let me know if I did okay. I didn't want it to become disgusting or anything.

**Chapter 16: The Truth, But Not the True Truth, Just the Fake Truth **

Taking one last look around, Harry sat up to remove his own restricting shirt. He felt that the ratio of clothing on Draco to the clothing on himself was a bit unfair. Throwing the shirt carelessly to the side, he watched as Draco sat up shakily and moved to unbutton Harry's pants.

"No, Draco." Draco looked up, startled. Harry cupped his cheek lovingly as he tried to hold back his tears of realization. Draco had no idea how to enjoy this. He was used to pleasing, not being pleased. "Lay back, love." Draco slowly did so, a look of confusion still plastered on his face. "This is all about you."

Draco lay back and felt the wet warmth engulf his erection and almost exploded right then and there. He moaned as Harry took his full length in his mouth and flicked his tongue back and forth over the head. Draco had never experienced enjoyment out of anything sexual. Up until now, the thought of anything like this scared him to death, and he supposed it was with good reason. Still, he felt the need to give back to Harry.

"Y-You can… go inside me… if you want…"

Harry, looked up, abandoned his work near Draco's groin and kissed the blond softly and reassuringly. Draco closed his eyes tightly and shivered, ready for the pain of having Harry tear through him. Anything to make him happy. Anything to return the favor.

"No, Draco. Like I said before, this is all about you. I'll take care of myself later."

"Or I can. I'm pretty gifted with my mouth, you know." He tried to sound light-hearted and witty, but his voice cracked and his body shook, and sadness washed over Harry's features for a moment.

"Maybe another time." And with that, Harry began finishing his work.

They lay there afterwards for what seemed like only a few minutes, but the sun had begun to set already. They were entangled as if they were one person, now only half-naked with trousers on but chests bare. Draco had fallen asleep, and all Harry could do was watch the blond's chest rise and fall and listen to the beating of his heart. Occasionally, he would plant tiny kisses on his lover's temples. When he did so, the smaller boy would smile softly, and Harry would feel like melting. Draco shifted his weight in Harry's arms and let out a soft, content sigh. This is when Harry couldn't hold it in any longer. He let the tears fall.

"You're perfect, Draco. I wish everyone would let you see that."

With that, Draco stirred. Letting his eyes adjust to the red-orange light of the sunset, and looked up at Harry. His small smile turned into a frown of concern when he saw his boyfriend's tear-stained face.

"Harry, what's wrong? I'm sorry I didn't give you all that you gave me. You didn't let me! Please, let me try again…" but he was interrupted with a furious kiss.

"Never think that you didn't make me happy ever again. Do you hear me?" Realizing that he was frightening the other boy, he pulled him into an embrace and softened his tone. "It was perfect. That's why I am crying."

Draco stared at him with a look of disbelief. "Why wouldn't you let me please you?"

"Why won't you just settle for being pleased?" Harry was getting angry again. "Why can't you grasp the fact that being with you at all is worth more than anything you can do for me sexually? It's not always about being someone's whore you know!"

Harry knew immediately that that had come out wrong. Draco's eyes turned from silver to a stony grey. Gathering his shirt, he swiftly stood up and seemed to glide away in his anger. He stopped, turned around with tears in his eyes, and said, "I guess once a whore, always a whore. Right, Potter?" He spit the name out like venom and turned on his heel to continue.

All Harry could do was watch as tears of guilt, regret and sympathy found their way down his cheeks.

* * *

"Hey! Where have you been, slick? Off _thanking_ your hero for the past two hours?" Blaise caught up with Draco and nudged him in the ribs.

"Piss off, Zabini."

"He's THAT bad, eh?"

"FUCK OFF."

Now everyone in the corridor had turned to look at the two boys. Blaise stood with his mouth gaping open in surprise. Draco was turning red and clenching his fists. Becoming concerned for his best friend more than anything, Blaise took the shaking boy by the elbow and led him to an empty classroom.

"Sit." He instructed the blond who now had tears flowing freely from his eyes. "Talk. Are you alright? What happened? Oh Merlin… did Potter hurt you?" Blaise got down on his knees in front of Draco and pulled the blond's hands away from his eyes. He traced the love bites on Draco's neck and collar bone. Staring into each other's eyes, the boys were silent. Draco was trying to compose his thoughts. Blaise was praying that Harry hadn't hurt Draco.

"Can someone ever stop being a whore?"

"Excuse me?"

"Well, if a whore allows themselves to enjoy something and well… you know… not give much back in return, they're not pleasing the other person and the other person gets angry. On the other hand… if a whore tries to please the other… they're… well… they're a whore. Does that make sense?"

"Not at all."

"Let me try again… if a whore…"

"Draco, stop. It made sense but there was no logic behind it at all. Where did that come from?" Realization hit Blaise at that moment like a pile of bricks. "Draco Malfoy, you are NOT a whore. Do you hear me? Anyone who tells you you're a whore is a fucking idiot and I'll kill them." He got up from his knees and hugged his best friend as if the blond was too precious to be let go of.

"Don't kill Harry…"

Blaise backed away from his friend so fast that Draco almost fell backwards. "Harry… Potter…"

They stared at each other, one with fear in his eyes, and the other with anger and determination.

"He's going to get an ear full."

"Don't. He'll know I told you."

"I don't give a fuck if he knows that you told me! That's verbal abuse Draco! You're the last person who deserves that!" Now he was shaking Draco by the shoulders and the blond let out a small sob. Blaise let one out almost in unison and embraced his best friend again. "I'm sorry." He muttered. "Nobody hurts my best friend." With that, Blaise took off swiftly from the room, leaving Draco feeling more alone and upset than before.

"Hey! Potter!" Blaise ran to catch up to the trio the next morning. "Can I talk to you?" Hermione and Ron looked confused. "Alone?" Harry obviously knew that something was wrong, but he didn't look scared. Blaise thought he was an idiot for that. As they walked away from the crowds, Blaise noticed that Harry looked absolutely awful.

"What's up? Is something wrong with Draco?"

"How dare you ask as if you don't know?" Blaise asked, his voice dripping with malice.

"Oh. Listen. It's not what it sounds like…"

"You called him a bloody WHORE! You broke him all over again. You slept with him and you weren't satisfied, so you felt the need to BREAK him all over again!"

"I WAS satisfied! I was MORE than satisfied! Blaise I love him to DEATH! It breaks my heart to see that he can't just sit back and enjoy it! You wouldn't know, Blaise, but Draco has issues with allowing someone to make love to him, and not simply fuck him and leave him there."

"Sounds like you didn't help him to figure out which is which!"

"I DIDN'T CALL HIM A WHORE!" People were starting to turn and stare at the two, just as they had yesterday when Draco had blown up at Blaise. "Or would you rather I give you a play-by-play of what happened?!"

"…no, thank you." Blaise turned away, dejected. "Harry, you don't understand. It kills me to see Draco this way."

"You think that it doesn't kill me?"

"You don't really know him any other way, though, do you? Well, besides that asshole act he used to put on. I knew him from when we were little. It's extremely scary to see the light slowly leave your best friend's eyes and feel like its your responsibility to find a way to bring it back… for both of your sakes. You don't remember him the way that I do. You never played in his backyard for hours and hours, you never watched the way his eyes turned every shade of blue when he was really enjoying himself. That doesn't happen anymore. My Draco's dead, Harry. You're slowly losing yours. Take it from someone who's lost him. It will eat you up inside. I see it already has." Blaise wiped the newly formed tears from his eyes. "Please, go talk to him. You can save him. You can bring him back. Maybe if you succeed, I can work on getting my Draco back, too."

Harry watched Blaise walk away with disbelief. He had no idea that he was feeling that way. He had no idea that it had gone so far and that it was killing Blaise. If it was killing Blaise, it was probably taking its toll on Pansy, too.

Harry had to find Draco. For his, Pansy's, and Blaise's sakes. Mostly, though, he had to do this for Draco.

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I thought this was a decent-sized chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. It was a tough one for me. I thought Blaise's last speech was pretty upsetting and it was kind of emotional to write, as pathetic as that may sound. I guess I'm getting too attached to my OOC Draco. ((Tear))

Review please!


	17. Boiling Over

_I am SO SORRY that I have waited this long, you have no idea. It has actually been haunting me. lol, but anyway... I think I may have lost my mind slightly with this next twist. Again, I'm very sorry for the wait, but in my defense, college apps have taken up a majority of my time. But don't fret, I got into college and now I am back to (hopefully) finish this up soon enough!_**  
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**Chapter 17: Boiling Over**

Harry found it hard to sleep that night. He had tried to confront Draco about their misunderstanding, but Draco had heard nothing of it. He turned on his heel and walked away as Harry called his name.

Now, Harry was alone and feeling worse than he had in a very long time.

Maybe Draco wasn't worth this much pain and constant confusion.

Harry shook his head in a manner that resembled a wet dog to shake this thought away as soon as it had come. Draco was the one he loved, and anyone who meant that much to him was worth more than Harry's thoughts. There was no question about that.

Then why was he second-guessing this whole thing? Harry wasn't a quitter. Everybody knew that. In fact, he was downright hard-headed and tenacious at the best of times.

An image of Draco on the night when they arrived at Hogwarts that year flooded his mind.

_Draco shivered in the cold while waiting for the carriages to fill. It had been a surprisingly mild night, so Harry did not understand the sudden movement from Draco's direction as they stepped into one of the awaiting carriages. This time, Harry had the opportunity to sit next to Draco, while Hermione and Ron took the opposite seats. The three made the move to look out the window in silence again, but Harry refused to let them do that. He blindly groped for a way to spark up a conversation._

"_So, Draco," he started, but paused to clear his throat as his three companions turned to face him. "Uh, how was your summer?" Harry felt like an idiot. 'The kid's depressed, you stupid git,' he thought to himself. 'Obviously it had something to do with an occurrence over the summer.' He mentally slapped himself repeatedly._

_Draco simply stared at him for a moment, and the boys' eyes locked momentarily. Harry could read into those eyes very clearly, much to his surprise. Draco was not one who could be read easily unless he willingly let his guard down. This look he gave, it was a look of "Help me, Harry. I've been broken and I need you to fix me."_

He thought of that look that the blond had given him for quite some time. By the time Harry had made a decision about what he was going to do, the sun had risen and Ron had left for breakfast without him.

* * *

Draco was walking to breakfast by himself, trying to look as care-free as possible. He wasn't doing well. The bags under his eyes had doubled in size last night, to the point where they practically came down to his chin to absorb his entire face.

"Damn Potter." He muttered. "Invading my mind like it's his for the taking."

He rounded a corner angrily to be face-to-face with the culprit himself. He had a tendency to meet up with the people he is least anxious to see. It really was becoming a problem.

He tried to go around the taller boy, but Harry wouldn't have it. To the students walking by, it must have looked like they were dancing with each other. They, quite frankly, looked ridiculous, and Draco was not happy about it.

"Move it, Potter. Seriously."

Harry frowned back at him.

"Are you just going to stand there looking disappointed while I starve to death, or are you going to let me eat some food today?" He tried to move past again, but this time Harry held him by his shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" He growled half angrily, half scared. Harry let go as if he had been burned.

"I just want to talk. Please, Draco. It's been two days. I've given you time to cool off, now let's sit down and talk it out…"

"…You think this is something that will just clear up like the weather, Potter? Have you completely lost it? I'm sick of you hurting me. I'm sick of you acting like you care about me. I'm sick of you messing with my head all the time, and I'M SICK OF YOU."

You could almost hear the chins hit the floor as their fellow students' jaws dropped. Little did they know that this was only the beginning.

Before anyone saw it coming, Harry's eyes clouded up angrily, and he snapped.

Blaise turned the corner to see something that he had not planned on. Harry had Draco pinned against the wall and was yelling… no… SCREAMING at Draco like Draco had just killed Hedwig.

"I DO CARE ABOUT YOU. I'M NOT TRYING TO PLAY WITH YOUR HEAD. I JUST WANT TO SHOW YOU THAT I CARE, BUT SOMETHING ALWAYS GETS SAID THE WRONG WAY BECAUSE YOU'RE JUST SO GOD-DAMN FRAGILE AND YOU CAN'T STOMACH THE TRUTH."

Blaise ran over to the scene as Harry began to shake a trembling Draco by the shoulders.

"Get off of him!"

Harry shook him again as he cried incoherently. Draco whimpered.

"Harry, stop!"

Again.

"You're hurting him! Please…"

Again.

**BAM.**

"Draco, come on. It's okay, come here." Blaise held out his arms as Draco pushed past a very dazed Harry Potter. Bringing his hand up to his nose, he felt blood spilling from his nostrils. He couldn't wrap his head around it. Blaise had punched him.

"Hurting him wasn't what I had in mind, Potter. Never mind what I said." Blaise said as Draco disappeared into the Great Hall. "Stay away from him, or I swear to Merlin, Potter, it won't be your nose next time.

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"Ron, look."

Ron turned to follow where Hermione's finger was pointing. It led to Draco sitting next to Pansy with tears in his eyes. Next thing he knew, she was embracing him and cradling him back and forth like a small child. Then his gaze was led to the door.

Blaise Zabini was storming in with a fiery anger in his eyes. His gaze softened as he approached Draco and he tightly embraced him in a comforting hug. He whispered something to Draco, and Ron could make out the words, "Thank you" forming on Draco's lips.

"Come on," Hermione said as she got up. Ron followed suit. The walked to the Slytherin table, earning them some funny looks by the other Slytherins as they approached.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked fearfully, hoping that Nott and Flint hadn't shown up again.

"Go ask Potter." Blaise answered bitterly. "You'll find him in the infirmary I'm sure. I left him with quite a bloody nose."

"What?!" Ron was ready to defend his best friend. "Why would you do that? Just because he and Draco are fighting doesn't mean…"

"It was in defense of Draco…"

"Yes we _know_ that, but…"

"No, you don't know!" People paused to stare at Blaise for a moment before turning back to their breakfast. Blaise continued in a hushed tone. "Harry was hurting him."

Ron stared blankly at him.

"Shaking him."

Ron couldn't comprehend it.

"Screaming at him. Scaring him to death."

Ron's eyes shifted from Blaise, to Pansy, to Draco so quickly he became dizzy. Then he sprinted from the Great Hall, determined to find out what happened from his best friend's own lips.

_Harry wouldn't… no. Not Harry. There's something wrong. He can't have…_

Ron caught his breath in front of the infirmary doors as Harry opened them from the inside on his way out.

"Harry, why would you ever…?"

Before he could finish, his best friend was sobbing into his shoulder.

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_ What's up with Harry? Has he lost it? I don't know! Well, yes I do. But you probably know, too. I'll update soon this time, probably within the week. Please review!_


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